Double Trouble Extra: Noble Grilling
by LuisJM
Summary: After the events of Double Trouble, Noble leader is at Unit E explaining the situation that happened in the MECH facility. How will he talk himself and his team out of it? COMPLETE!
1. How it Started

**What up guys? LuisJM back with a little extra story from my version of Transformers Prime Season 3. As most of you know, I did the fifth episode of Transformers Prime in Double Trouble. It's where the Autobots try to stop the Decepticons from transferring volatile red energon to Darkmount to please Megatron's dreams of world domination while John and Elsa infiltrate a MECH facility to gain Intel of what they are constructing under the Director's orders. If you wish to know more of this story, you can go into the episode story to read for yourself. Remember, it's called _'Double Trouble'_.**

**However, for those of you who read my previous story and went near the end, you would notice that there was a group of people that came in to rescue John and Elsa when their mission went south. They were of course called Noble Team. For those of you who don't know, Noble Team, who consisted in Carter, Kat, Barrick, Emile, Paduk, Thorne, and Sofia were from an old story I made for the Transformers Prime series as an extra called _'Invasion'_. It's about when the Decepticons attack Jasper and the military was trying their damn best to protect the town, only to fail and retreat into the old fallout shelter underneath the city. Again, if you like to know more, you should not only check out the Invasion story, but the second episode of my season three version, 'Prime' as it discuss how they get out of the mess they got themselves into. I thought that it was perfect to bring them back at that episode in order to make some relevance, and hopefully have them involved in an epic final episode I'm planning in the future, if I get around to it.**

**But by the time I finished with the episode, something caught my attention. With Noble Team returning, I started to wonder if I could create an extra and short story about what got them into that battle from the episode. Seem to make sense as it did leave a few plot holes and would need to be ironed out. Plus I have to make a quick one-shot story before updating Transformers Infinite, and that too is a work in progress nightmare with the author I was working with not interested in helping me anymore. So it does lead to a lot of problems there as well. I mean I have a few ideas for one shots, but this question I have seems to make more sense. So here we are, looking into the short story of Transformers Prime episode extra that involves Noble Team and their antics. Here's the summary of this short story.**

**After the events of Double Trouble, Noble leader is at Unit E explaining the situation that happened in the MECH facility. How will he talk himself and his team out of it?**

**Chapter Notes**

**Now this extra story will be inspired by the Transformers Prime episode, 'Grilled'. It's the episode where Fowler was being grilled by General Bryce of the incident with Nemesis Prime. While it is interesting, it was pretty much a filler episode where they play back previous episodes to that point. Not much to work with and completely forgettable from what I saw. I was thinking that I should do a better job at it by playing back from the start of the mission to where episode five picked up. Also, most of the chapter will be in flashbacks so there will be a lot of Italic fonts in these chapters while recent will be normal. Maybe a bit much, but that's how I handle all my story fonts when it involves flashbacks. Still, it would seem fitting, considering the premise of the story. One more thing before we can continue, this story is going to be a crossover of Transformers Prime and various video games. The reason why is because Noble Team contains characters from video games, most likely Halo and the Gears of War franchise. I'm sure there will be more characters based on those games, if not others, but I need to think about that. Until then, I will keep these characters until I add more. Who knows, maybe I can give John his own unit when the time comes. But that would be for another time. Until then, let's enjoy this little story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime or any video game franchise.**

**Not sit back and enjoy this little story.**

* * *

Double Trouble Extra: Noble Grilling

Chapter 1: How it Started

Deep in the Nevada desert, there is a large military facility that is in charge of extra terrestrial attacks called Unit E. Their mission was simple, to aid the Autobots in defending Earth against any possible Decepticon threat and keep them protected. Course, with the incident that happened in Jasper combined with the reveal of the Autobot/Decepticon war in front of the public, it was complicating far more problems then expected. Now they do mostly damage control in the base, trying to make sure that Atinger and Godfree don't push the law in removing the Autobots while in the field their military forces are on stand by around an energy barrier where the Decepticons have set up shop in Jasper after destroying it. However, there is one thing that was about to happen that doesn't involve this intergalactic war on their planet. Instead, it focuses on one human group that are in some serious hot water.

In the middle of facility, a jeep came down the road and stopped at a huge office building. Once it stopped at the front, the soldier turned to the passenger and told him to get off.

"This is your stop. Good luck with the general. I heard he's mad after the stunt you pulled."

By that time, someone stepped out of the jeep dressed in a military suit with medals of honor and a purple heart. Dusting himself off, he was a his late thirties with black military hair cut and sky blue eyes. This person is none other then Carter as he was sent to the main offices for an explanation of what happened. See, he and his group, Noble Team, headed to the MECH controlled Clinton-Sherman Airforce base in Burns Flat, Oklahoma to rescue two human members of the Autobots. Well one human member and one techno organic, but that's another story. Anyways, they went and rescue the two, but the problem is that they didn't have permission to go by their superior officer. Because of that, they are all in some serious trouble. Now here he is, at Bryce's office, wanting his side of the story. Sighing, he knew that he needed all the luck he gets.

Carter: "Trust me… Luck is the one thing I need."

He soon started to walk to the main entrance of the office complex while the jeep drove away. Once he opened the door, he was greeted by the receptionist that is occupied with paperwork and up to date reports on the Jasper front. Once he approached the receptionist, he explained who he is and why he's here.

Carter: "Um… Excuse me. I'm Captain Carter, leader of Noble Team. I'm here to see General Bryce."

The receptionist looks to the captain and waved him off.

"Okay… Have a seat here. Someone will come to take you to him."

Carter heard her and figured that would be the case.

Carter: "Sure thing, thanks."

He soon took a seat near the lounge and waited for his turn to speak to Bryce. As he was waiting, a lot of questions were circling in his mind. With the incident that happened back at that rescue mission, he feared this day. Indeed, it was a risk in going down there and rescue those two spies. And yes, they all managed to escape that hellhole before it all blew up in front of their faces. But it was uncalled for and they didn't speak to Lasky of heading down there to rescue them. Now here he is, sitting in the lounge, waiting for whatever punishment Bryce it going to give him. He just hopes that it's not going to be just as worse as he thinks about. That he and his team won't get disbanded or worse, terminated. Whatever the case, he better be prepared at what punishment the general will give him and his unit. As he waited, a soldier started to come into the lounge and turned to Carter.

"Noble Leader Carter?"

Carter heard his name and looked up at the soldier.

Carter: "Yes. That's me."

The soldier looked to him and told him to come.

"Please follow me. The general is expecting you."

Carter heard that and sighed, knowing what it meant. Getting up, he headed to the soldier and responded.

Carter: "Sure… Why not…"

When he approached the soldier, he gestured him to follow and the two went through the door. Walking down the hallway, Carter asked about what the Bryce was going to talk to him about.

Carter: "So… What does the general want from me? I mean, I get the idea of him wanting to question me about the incident, but is there more I should know about to prepare for?"

The soldier remained silent, not wanting to let him know about what he has to face. Carter didn't get any answer and he rolled his eyes around.

Carter: "I see… So that silence is an answer, huh?"

The soldier looked at him and answered him calmly.

"Sorry, Noble Leader. What the general has to say to you would be classified."

Carter heard that and didn't like the sound of it.

Carter: "Right… Classified… That makes me feel really comfortable."

The two kept on walking down the hall, turning a corner before approaching Bryce's office. Once they reach the door, the soldier saluted and let him be.

"Here we are. Good luck, Noble Leader. The general's grilling is tough to get through with."

Carter turned to the door and took a breather, preparing himself for something bad in there.

Carter: "Yeah. So I heard."

The soldier soon left and returns to his post. Once he's gone, Carter turned to the door and took a deep breath.

Carter: "Okay… Here goes nothing."

He slowly opened the door as he entered the office. When he did, he was soon introduced to Bryce, as he sat on his desk and had a stern look on his face. There was also a soldier at the corner with a camcorder recording the grilling, a typical military protocol.

General Bryce: "Noble Leader Carter. So nice of you to come at such short notice. Please, have a seat."

He soon gestured to him to have a seat across the way. He turned and saw three separate seats, one of which was empty. But what shocked him as that the two that were occupied has two familiar faces. The first is Fowler as he knew that he was also responsible for what happened. On the other chair is a man in his forties with brown hair and eyes and was wearing a suit as well. That person was Captain Lasky as he was in charge of all the military work in the Pentagon. Looking at the two, he soon realized that this is bad, really bad.

Carter: "Agent Fowler. Captain Lasky. Surprised to see you both here."

Both of them got up and explained why they were there.

Agent Fowler: "Well, I didn't expect a three way grilling if that's what you mean. But it was under Bryce's orders due to the incident back in Burns Flat, a part of which I sort of dragged John in."

Captain Lasky: "And you disobeyed my order to remain in your posts. I'm only here to give my side of the story."

Carter heard that and figured it was the case.

Carter: "Makes sense. With what happened, Bryce would want your own personal opinion. Quite the problem I have."

Captain Lasky: "Yes… This is quite the problem."

The general soon cleared his throat and decided to get started with the interview.

General Bryce: "If you all are done with the introductions, I believe we should start."

The three turned to the general and understood that part. So they all took their seats and they began the grilling. But not before Carter looked to the recorder and asked about that.

Carter: "Before we begin, is it really necessary to film this? This is a private grilling, it's not like we're showing it to the public."

Bryce looked to him in confusion and explained about it.

General Bryce: "All known grilling need to be recorded for historical references, as a means to learn from ones mistakes. Such as the one you are currently in."

Carter heard that and get how deep the situation is.

Carter: "Yes, sir. I understand."

Clearing that out of the way, Bryce decided to start with the grilling.

General Bryce: "Now then, Noble Leader Carter of Noble Team, I looked into your resume and was impressed by your accomplishments since joining the military. You led your team through multiple missions throughout the globe, succeeded with expectations. You and your group were even part of the evacuation of Jasper, Nevada until the invasion started and through impossible odds, managed to survive for so long. But now I got this report from Lasky here that you disobeyed orders and went on your own suicide mission to rescue two people. Is that true?"

Noble Leader heard that and lowered his head in response.

Carter: "Yes, that's true. But that is just one side of the story Lasky presented. Perhaps if I give you my side of the story, then maybe it will clear the air a bit."

The General leaned back on his chair and sighed.

General Bryce: "That is why you and Fowler are here, Carter. To get your side of what happened. Now, Fowler, shall we start with you? I want to know how this mess began."

Fowler turned to him and figured that he would start with him, considering his experience with grills.

Agent Fowler: "Very well. As you know, not only we have to deal with Decepticons, but also a terror cell within our own soil that is MECH."

Bryce remembered about that.

General Bryce: "Yes, yes, I'm aware of MECH. Ever since that Nemesis Prime debacle and the Milton Airforce attack, I have you take charge in following any MECH activity. Go on, please."

Agent Fowler: "Anyways, after MECH stole all that Tusgten steel in from POSGO in California, I had to keep close watch on any strange activity. That's when I'm picking up some strange movement coming from the Clinton-Sherman Airforce base in Burns Flat, Oklahoma. Now that facility was abandoned a long time ago since the Cuban Missile Crisis was adverted. So all roads point to MECH from what I saw. I had to do something before they decided to vanish like many times before."

General Bryce: "So what did you do? Have to contact the Autobots to explain to them the situation and recruit them. They seem to have a personal grudge with them since their first encounter."

The agent slumped down and told him he did that, but with little success.

Agent Fowler: "That was my first thought. Sadly, they already left to stop some Cons in transporting volatile material to Darkmount. But someone decided to step in to handle this infiltration mission. I'm sure you heard him. Jonathan Darby?"

Bryce heard that name and rubbed the temples of his head, remember him.

General Bryce: "Yeah… I remember him. A noble soldier. Lost his brother because of that bombing in Baghdad. Wanting to get revenge after that, but I came to a decision to discharge him, for his own safety. Now I heard he came back from Italy and you appointed him the new Liaison for Team Prime, instead of some of the people I choose for you to be a potential replacement."

Fowler shrugged that off and explained about that.

Agent Fowler: "As I stated before, I didn't need someone to keep the Autobots in line. Just need someone to care for them and what matters the most. But aren't we getting off topic?"

General blinked and realized he does have a point.

General Bryce: "Right. Sorry about that. Guess I was a little miffed about that decision. Please, continue."

Fowler nodded and went on.

Agent Fowler: "Thank you. Anyways, John volunteered in infiltrating that MECH facility and gather Intel on what they are planning. I provided him with the equipment and disguise necessary to get into the facility and hope that he succeeded without incident."

Bryce soon points the attention to someone else that was with John.

General Bryce: "But he wasn't alone, was he? From what I gathered from your recent report that someone was with him. This Elsa de Sica. Strange name, I give you that. Even stranger that this is a little girl that assisted him."

Fowler nodded and reminded the general about that.

Agent Fowler: "Yes. That's true. Elsa de Sica was a member of the Social Welfare Agency. I assume you got my report on that facility in Italy."

The general nodded and knew what he meant.

General Bryce: "Indeed, I have. An anti terrorist facility in Italy and develops super soldier out of little girls. A little extreme, yes, but it's not as messed up as harboring alien robots."

Agent Fowler: "Of course. All governments do have some dark pasts here and there. Anyways, I sent John and Elsa to the decommissioned air force base and I haven't heard word from them since they head down there. I was getting so worried, that I contacted John's wife.

* * *

_Flashback..._

_In the Autobot Base underneath Lake Eerie, Fowler contacted the base to explain to June of what happened._

_Agent Fowler: **"As you know, your husband and Elsa are still at MECH facility gathering Intel from MECH to see what they are planning. For some reason, I hadn't heard word from them since they left Unit E. All communications have been blacked out since and I cannot get a close contact with them in anyway."**_

_June, also known as Altra, heard that news and was worried about it._

_June/Altra: "You don't think that they're dead, are they?"_

_Fowler heard that and didn't think that's how it went down._

_Agent Fowler: **"I don't think that's the case. From what I can tell, John and Elsa had many missions together back in Italy, they can survive through anything. It's just that this is MECH we're talking about. They always keep their locations secret and any communication outside of MECH would be problematic. I'm sure they are all right."**_

_June turned away and didn't like it._

_June/Altra: "I don't know. As I know, I always worry about my husband since he left Jack and I and always scared about the day someone would come and said that he was gone. Just the thought of him in that place, really concerns me. I just hope he's all right."_

_Down at the lounge, Vince, Sam, and Sari looked on and could feel the same. With John and Elsa away on a mission, it could be troublesome of what will happen. That's when Sari remembered something and told the wife._

_Sari: "Hey! I got an idea! Why not check the satellite image of the MECH facility. I mean, we now have full access of every satellite around to world to look into Decepticon activity, we can use it and look into MECH activity."_

_Sam heard that and remembered the location._

_Sam Witwickity: "She's right! That base is located in Burns Flat, Oklahoma, right? So maybe we can keep tabs on that place as well. Raf? You hear that? Think you can pinpoint Burns Flat so we know what's going on with John and Elsa?"_

_He turned to the hacker, hoping that he can do that. But Raf, AKA Firewall, was busy with the Autobot mission to stop the Decepticons from delivering the Red Energon to Darkmount and can't work on both things at once._

_Raf/Firewall: "Sorry guys, but I can't. I'm a little preoccupied at the moment, what with the Autobot mission and everything."_

_Ratchet heard that and agreed with him as well._

_Ratchet: "He's right, you know. With the Decepticons taking all the Red Energon to Megatron, we cannot venture off a different path. We need to have all servos on deck on this. This includes you Altra. I need the med bay at the ready for any Autobots that could be injured when they return from the mission. Now!"_

_Altra heard him and sighed to herself. She really wants to make sure her husband is safe. But the same can be said with her son, as he's with the team stopping the Cons. Turning to him, she responded the best she can._

_June/Altra: "Sure thing, Ratchet. I'll get on that right away."_

_She soon turned to Fowler and thanked him for the heads up._

_June/Altra: "Thank you for filling me in on John's progress. Think you can keep me posted if anything comes up with him?"_

_Fowler looked away and didn't know how to respond. Turning back, he told her that he would try._

_Agent Fowler: **"I'll do my best. But with John and Elsa under radio silence, it would be difficult to see what's been going on. Still, I'll let you know."**_

_Altra smiled and was glad that he'll work hard._

_June/Altra: "Thanks, Fowler. I'm sure you'll find him soon."_

_She soon heard Ratchet telling her to get to the ward._

_Ratchet: "Altra! What are you doing? Double time it!"_

_June groaned and responded as calming as possible._

_June/Altra: "All right, I'm going."_

_She soon left the command center and headed to the medical ward to get everything ready incase any Autobot was injured. The moment she left, Vince decided to handle this and got up to get to the screen Fowler is on before he could sign off. He soon spoke to him of what he heard._

_Vince: "Agent Fowler, I get that Jack's dad can handle himself, even with that cybernetic girl by his side. But giving the situation, he might need some form of backup to get out of this predicament. If things have gotten worse then expected, he would need an extraction point, otherwise both of them will be killed. Trust me, I've lost my entire family from the Decepticons back in Jasper. I don't want Jack to loose his pops over what would be a suicide mission."_

_Fowler heard him and get where he's going. Considering the loss of casualties in Jasper, it did leave scars to those who have survived and escaped that Hellhole. Rubbing the temples of his head, he get where he's going with this._

_Agent Fowler: **"Look, Vince. I know that you wanted to help out, considering what happened to you months ago, but my hands are tied here. Unless I get word from John or Elsa, I can't send an extraction team. Even so, I need permission from General Bryce and file a lot of paperwork to set a team up to bring those two back. This is beyond my control. I'm sorry."**_

_He soon hit the button and the screen went off. Vince heard that and thought it was a fruitless endeavor. But he knows some people that can help with that extraction._

_Vince: "Maybe it's beyond your control, but I think I know some people who can help. I just need to make a quick phone call."_

_He soon got out his cell phone to dial a certain number. Sari and Sam looked to each other and was a little worried of what he is up to. So much so that they asked him of what he's planning._

_Sari: "Uh… Vince? What exactly are you doing?"_

_He finished dialing the number and responded to her._

_Vince: "Isn't it obvious? There's only one team that can help get Jack's dad and Elsa de Sica out of there. And they are some good friends of mine."_

_End Flashback…_

* * *

General Bryce: "So this kid, Vince was the cause of the mess?"

Fowler heard that and shrugged it off.

Agent Fowler: "Not really… Vince had his concerns with one John Darby considering he knows of his son. And considering that he lost his entire family during the Invasion of Jasper, he just didn't want the son to loose a father."

The general listened to his side of the story, not realizing the whole truth of Jack is one of the Cybertronians that was created by MECH. He soon looked into the survivor profiles that was added after the invasion and looked into Vince's profile.

General Bryce: "Yes… I'm aware of this Vince fella. Former student of Jasper Memorial High, had a family with a father who once worked as a mechanic. His entire family was killed in an EVAC point in Jasper when Decepticons destroyed the entire mall. Now he currently lives with his grandmother and works in a mechanic shop as a part timer after school. Part of that relocation program when he and many other survivors that were trapped in Jasper were rescued. I already got the full report, Fowler. You don't have to explain everything to me. However, I do wish to explain on why a young teenager contacted one of our best strike force groups? Carter, perhaps you would shed some light into that part, giving Fowler wasn't there at the time."

Carter turned to him and knew that it was his turn to explain that side of the story. Taking a deep breath, he started his side of the story.

Carter: "But of course sir. I didn't know much of what happened between Fowler and the Autobots. However, I know of how and when the call was made. It started back in one of the Unit E's bunkers my team was residing in. We were pretty much on break and had nothing to do until the next training exercise commence. Everyone was doing their regular thing when Vince contacted us.

* * *

_Flashback…_

_In the barracks of Unit E, everyone was under constant watch as jeeps patrolled the streets in the event of a Decepticon attack was about to take place. Thankfully, there was none, but they still need to keep their guards up. Inside one of the bunkers, a group of soldiers were just sitting around, doing absolutely nothing to pass the time. That team was Noble as they were trying to keep themselves preoccupied. The first one is Barrick as he was pacing back and forth, looking at his watch waiting for his ride to pick him up for a vacation he so wanted after nearly surviving Hell itself in Jasper. Paduk was modifying his Markza to help improve his marksmen skills if another Con attack happens. And Emile was on his barrack bed sleeping with a Playboy magazine covering his face as his skull imprinted helmet was on the nightstand. But at the shooting range of the bunker, Throne was teaching Sofia the means to shooting._

_Thorne: "Now, Sofia, if you are willing to the Noble cause, you need to understand that it's all about picking your target then wasting your bullets. When Jasper was invaded, the military needs to use tactics against Decepticons. One of those tactics includes using their sights against them. One bullet shot to the visor and they would be permanently blind._

_Sofia heard that and remembered about the situation._

_Sofia: "I know how to take them down. I was there, remember?"_

_Thorne sighed and knew what she was talking about._

_Thorne: "That is true… But there will be a time when we don't have Paduk with us. If that happens, there comes a time when we all have to fend for ourselves. Which is why we're doing these practice lessons. Now, hand on the trigger, eyes steady, and whatever you do, take your time. You got enough in the world to take that shot."_

_Sofia groaned and listened to his advice. She soon positioned herself and took aim at a helmet with a visor that spray painted in purple, to symbolize the color of the Decepticons. Getting her eyes on the scope of her DMR and made sure that she has her crosshair in her sights. After a few moments, she got her target and pulled the trigger. The bullet soon came out and it his right at the visor of the helmet, piecing the hole and knocking it off the podium. Thorne looked to this and was impressed by it._

_Thorne: "Huh… Not bad. Not bad at all. I say with a bit more practice, you can blind a Decepticon at a high rise 50 miles at the top of the Empire State Building."_

_Sofia turned to him and was pleased with that._

_Sofia: "Thanks, Thorne. You're pretty good for a teacher."_

_Thorne smirked, knowing that he taught her well. Since loosing her SWATT team in Jasper at the start of the invasion, Noble decided to recruit Sofia into their ranks. Since then, they have trained her to be a part of the fight. All that is left is to train her in fighting with Noble. Though it would've been smoother if a certain members would help her in training. That was because of Barrick yelling in frustration as he hit the punching back with his fist. The two turned to him and could tell that he's not in a good mood._

_Thorne: "I'm a good teacher, no doubt about that. But I wish the others would help out. Barrick! If you're bored, maybe you should help out on Sofia's training. It would be easier if I had an extra set of hands around here."_

_Barrick heard him and turned to see the scornful look on his face. The Demolition expert rubbed the back of his balding head and apologized with his temper._

_Barrick: "Sorry about that, Thorne. Didn't mean to snap like that. It's just that I've been waiting for my ride to arrive. Been thirty minutes now and I haven't heard word from them yet. Thirty God Damn minutes! That's thirty minutes of beach time wasted. Do you have any idea how hard it was to book a reservation to Miami beach, reserve a room, and set up all the activities to do down there? Do you?"_

_Both Throne and Sofia turned to each other and figured why he was upset. Barrick was planning a one-week vacation to Miami after surviving the Decepticon onslaught. Now it seems to be delayed due to the whole security concerns. Emile and Paduk were unfazed by his rant as the scout reminded him of what they're doing._

_Emile: "Man, Barrick, chill and Hell out, will you? We're all on vacation here. You just need to relax and enjoy it while you still can."_

_Barrick turned to him and groaned on his demeanor attitude._

_Barrick: "Yeah, easy for you to say. You just spend your vacation lying around when there's no fights for you to take. Me, on the other hand, I need some serious R & R out of this cooped up facility. And what better way to relax then in a beach with some hot babes around your shoulder. Hell, maybe I get some bonus points if I tell them I survived an Decepticon onslaught. They might go head over heels for me. Unlike a certain someone who thinks that the closest thing to seeing babes then in some cheap magazine, looking at boobs on a paper."_

_Emile heard this and was a little irritated by that._

_Emile: "At least it's my way in calming my nerves after nearly dying from a Con attack. You should try it sometimes."_

_Barrick crossed his arms and chuckled a little._

_Barrick: "Oh please. Like jacking off to magazine girls would make me feel better. C'mon Paduk, back me up."_

_Paduk was still working on his weapon, trying to ignore the argument over the two. Peering his eyes up to them, he shrugged it off and decided to share his own two cents._

_Paduk: "I think you are all disgusting pigs."_

_Both of them heard that and were shocked by what he said. Both Thorne and Sofia heard that as well and couldn't help but to chuckle over it._

_Sofia: "Spoken like a true man."_

_Thorne: "Amen to that."_

_Barrick groaned and never thought he was betrayed that easily. He turned to Paduk and uttered the one word to him._

_Barrick: "Traitor!"_

_Paduk shrugged it off and was being honest._

_Paduk: "Hey! I was only giving out my honest opinion."_

_Barrick was fuming as he was about to handle it his own way. But before he could actually do something about it, he and the rest of the team heard a familiar voice._

_Carter: "What is going on down there?"_

_The group heard that and looked up to see who was speaking to them. That's when they saw Carter and Kat standing on the catwalk near the entrance to their barracks. Carter looked to the demo expert and demanded what he's doing._

_Carter: "Well…?"_

_Barrick looked around and realized that he was in hot water. Turning back, he cleared his throat and explained himself as much as he could._

_Barrick: "Carter, sir. Sorry about the whole tirade, I was just a little impatient is all. My ride was supposed to be here half an hour ago for my Miami vacation for a week. I swear, the military tends to stop any civilian vehicle it comes to pass."_

_Kat placed her hands on her hips and reminded him of what transpired._

_Kat: "Can you blame them? With the Decepticon attack in Jasper, they have to take the extra precautions in civilian vehicles, considering how the Cons disguise themselves. They can't be too cautious on suspecting vehicles coming into a combat field operations._

_Carter soon passed his second in command and let them in on the problem._

_Carter: "Kat is right. With the invasion of Jasper, the entire US military is on their toes in preventing another tragic disaster as that. We all need to be at the ready if something occurs. Speaking of which…"_

_He look down at Barrick's attire and was appalled by it. Turns out, he was all decked out for his Miami vacation. He was wearing a buttoned Hawaiian shirt with white leather pants and a pair of white alligator shoes. Looking at his attire, he demanded what he has on._

_Carter: "What exactly are you wearing?"_

_Barrick look to himself and explained about that as well._

_Barrick: "What? This? Just a little something to enjoy my vacation. What do you think? Heard floral shirts are all the rage for the ladies."_

_They all look to him and had all those weird looks. That was when Sofia broke the silence._

_Sofia: "Um… I hate to say it, Barrick, but what you're wearing isn't turning me on."_

_Barrick heard her and was a little annoyed by her answer. The rest of the group chuckled a little and figured that would be one woman's reaction. Carter though decided to handle this and told Barrick that this is no vacation._

_Carter: "Look Barrick, I know that you need rest after going through that hell in Jasper. But remember this is not a vacation, this is military leave. This isn't some spring break that we would forget about the battle we went through, about the lives that were lost from it. Once this break is done, we have to report back for duty. With the Decepticons setting shop in Jasper, and the barrier protecting them from our forces, we need to have all hands on deck That includes us when we disembark to ground zero."_

_The others heard that and knew what he was referring to. They are only taking a break after surviving the Con onslaught. When the break is over, they can return to the battle and join the forces surrounding the Decepticon barrier that was covering Jasper and Darkmount. Paduk heard it and sighed, placing his tools down to remember._

_Paduk: "Carter is right, Barrick. We can't just go on vacation and pretend what happened didn't exist. You remember what happened to Carmine, right? You want to forget what they Cyclops freak did to him? I sure as hell don't. Hell, I don't want to forget on the scar that was left on my face."_

_He soon rubbed the burnt mark on the side of his face and could never forget about that. Barrick listened to Carter's and Paduk's advice and got the message._

_Barrick: "Yeah, yeah… I get the message. War is Hell, nothing changes, yada yada yada. I get the idea that we need to get back fighting when this break is over. But please, let me have a little fun why don't ya."_

_Carter heard that and gave a quick stern to the demo expert. Almost immediately, Barrick assured him that he would be back to fight again._

_Barrick: "Seesh, don't have an aneurysm will you? I was only playing with you. I promise that in a week, I will be back and reporting for duty again. I promise…"_

_Carter sighed and figured that he would be trying to be sympathetic._

_Carter: "As long as you don't excuse yourself in getting out of the army for leisure, I suppose that's fine with me."_

_Barrick smirked a little and was glad he got the idea._

_Barrick: "Good of you to see things my way sir. Though I would be happy if my boys come here and pick me up already!"_

_As he said that, he heard his phone ringing and believes to be who it is._

_Barrick: "Finally! Some form of contact. And for a second there, I was about to get a taxi."_

_He took out his cell phone and hit send, demanding his friends what just happened._

_Barrick: "Hey! What's taking you guys too long? I know the facility is under heavy security lockdown, but it couldn't be too much of a pain. Where are you?"_

_He waited for a response from the other end. But what he heard is a familiar voice he didn't expect._

_Vince: **"Uh… Hi, Barrick… Been a while…"**_

_Barrick heard that and realized whom that voice belonged to._

_Barrick: "Vince? Is that you?"_

_That got everyone's attention as they heard that name. Indeed, that was Vince. The same Vince they met back in Jasper when they were looking for survivors. The same one that they escorted through the town. Where they have to look after him after his entire family was killed by the Decepticons. Keeping him safe throughout their journey in the small town. All the way up to Vince joining the battle and teaming with Noble to defend the remaining survivors against the Cons after the death of Carmine. They were so impressed by Vince's bravery, that they decided to make him an honorary member of Noble and would train him when he leaves high school. But they never expect to hear from him this soon, especially on Barrick's cell. Vince chuckled and responded to Barrick's confusion._

_Vince: **"Yeah, it's me. Am I interrupting something? You sounded a little annoyed there."**_

_The demolition expert was sweating a little and never thought he call him."_

_Barrick: "No! Of course not! I was just waiting for some friends to come and pick me up from the base. Captain Lasky is giving Noble a week off after surviving Jasper and was expecting some friends taking me to Miami for the week. Though I wasn't expecting you calling me. What's seems to be the problem?"_

_Vince was hesitant on the other end and wanted to know if the Noble Leader was there._

_Vince: **"Yeah… Well, if your leader there? Carter? I need to speak with him. It's urgent."**_

_Barrick listened to the concern of his voice and realized something must've gone wrong. So he decided to give him to Carter about the situation at hand._

_Barrick: "Sure thing kid. Give me a second."_

_He soon approached the Noble Leader as he looked on in confusion._

_Carter: "Is that Vince? Barrick, care to explain to me why he has your phone number?"_

_Barrick looked to all of Noble Team and knew that they want an answer. So rubbing his neck, he explained his actions._

_Barrick: "Yeah… That… See, remember after escaping Jasper and leaving when all the survivors have been taken to the relocation program? Well, when Vince was about to leave, I secretly decided to give him my cell number. Thought it would be nice to get in contact with him, since he lost everything in Jasper."_

_The group heard that with a few of them face palming themselves. So much so that Carter was irate about it._

_Carter: "Have you lost your mind!? You give your number, your military number, to a civilian! You know that's against their policies."_

_Barrick shrugged it off and explained about that._

_Barrick: "Hey! Why are you getting annoyed by that. Vince did help us survive throughout Jasper during the invasion. If we didn't find him, we wouldn't last so long then our companions. He deserves to be a part of our group since Carmine died."_

_Some of them heard that and realized he has a point._

_Emile: "You know… Barrick is right. Vince did aid us around the town since we're not familiar with it. We wouldn't have survived without his help."_

_Sofia: "Yeah… Plus he did help us hold the line while all the civilians were taken underground when Carmine moved on. So he was brave enough to withstand the Decepticon onslaught."_

_Carter listened to their thoughts on this and they made some good points. Vince did save them many times and helped them through the invasion in many ways. Still, it was against protocol for soldiers giving their phone numbers to civilians. But this is Vince they're talking about. And he was just as reliable as any other soldier. So he would let it slide, but only if what Vince has to say is important._

_Carter: "Give me the phone. Let's see what Vince wants."_

_Hearing that, Barrick decided to hand the phone over to the leader. Once he did that, he started to talk with the young teen._

_Carter: "Hello? Vince? This is Carter."_

_Vince: **"Carter! Oh, think goodness I got to you. I didn't know how to reach you through the military lines, so I had to get to Barrick's phone to contact you."**_

_Carter heard that and was a little miffed about it._

_Carter: "Yeah… That… To be fair, me or my men didn't realize that Barrick gave you his phone number. Might want to give him the talk when all this blows over. But before that, I want to know why you want to contact me. Better be a good reason."_

_Vince heard that and was a little hesitant about it, but had to explain everything to him._

_Vince: **"In fact, it is. And I need your help with this."**_

* * *

_A few minutes later…_

_Carter: "I see… So you want us to handle that? Very well, since you helped us with our predicament back in Jasper, we'll help you with yours. I'll go speak with the others about this."_

_He soon hung up and the group looked on to see what was going on with the conversation. So Thorne asked him about it._

_Thorne: "Well… What did Vince said? Is it bad?"_

_Carter looked to his comrades and responded the best he could._

_Carter: "Bad for him? From what he told me, a father of his friend is held captive and there was no word from him or his partner that's with him."_

_Sofia placed her hands on her hips and was confused about that._

_Sofia: "Seriously? That's why he called us? A simple kidnapping? We're soldiers, not the police."_

_Carter soon explained to them what he got from Vince._

_Carter: "That's what I thought too. But Vince gave me the details about the people behind the capture. Don't know much, but from what he said, it is some kind of domestic terrorist organization in the US who called themselves, MECH."_

_Emile immediately heard that name and was surprised by it._

_Emile: "MECH? You mean those guys?"_

_Everyone turned to him and was surprised he knew them._

_Kat: "You knew MECH, Emile?"_

_Emile turned to the commander and nodded._

_Emile: "Only in rumors and news from some units. They are somewhat of rouge terrorist group that wish for world domination. Almost something out of an overblown villain organization in those cartoons. Think of Nazi's but in a modern era, taking technology and using it to their advantage. I knew a few friends who were part of the Dingus operation. Got electrocuted and knocked out on that train that contain that weapon. From what I heard from them, MECH was on the verge of taking the weapon. But they fallback and nearly caused the train to crash. While they didn't obtain the weapon, they were on the verge of global conquest."_

_Thorne heard that and remembered about an incident that happened a few months ago._

_Thorne: "Now that you think about it, I believe I heard of MECH when we got back from Jasper. Some of my classmates when we were at the academy were stationed in the Milton Airforce Base when it was under attack. They thought it was the work of Decepticons considering what they've done in Nevada. But there were some who believes that it was the work of MECH as they send some knew type of transforming soldiers in disguise as vehicles. I thought it was just a joke to talk about around the water cooler. But after hearing this, I believe that they could be the real deal."_

_Carter heard the two and started to think that this could be a situation._

_Carter: "And by the sound of it, this MECH could be a serious risk. And if Vince said that this father of his friend and his partner hasn't come back, it could mean trouble. Our best option is to head down there and stage a rescue."_

_Kat then turned to him and told him of the set back._

_Kat: "With all due respect sir, but if we are going to rescue some people, we need permission of Lasky and Palmer. We can't go off the book without a word from them."_

_Carter turned to her and got the message. They can't go anywhere without speaking to them first._

_Carter: "You're right. Going in head first without their approval could be a problem. Best speak to them of the situation."_

_He soon looked to the others and told them to wait._

_Carter: "All of you prep for a rescue. Kat and I will head to the Captain's quarters and explain the situation. C'mon Kat, let's go."_

_With that the two turned around and left their bunker while the rest of the team stood there and was in silent. That's when Paduk decided to come in and spoke to Barrick about the vacation._

_Paduk: "So… There goes your vacation plans, huh?"_

_Barrick glared to him and told him to be quiet._

_Barrick: "Shut it! My week break is as worse as it is."_

_End Flashback…_

* * *

General Bryce: "So let me get this straight. You're saying to me that this Vince, a civilian, contacted one of your men and asked for your help? Even if there would be no outside contact with civilians?"

Carter heard that and slouched down fearing this was going to go down like that."

Carter: "To be fair, Vince was the one who helped us survive Jasper during the Decepticon invasion. If it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't have survived for this long. We even made him an honorary member and are planning to recruit him when he graduates. I didn't know that Barrick would give him his number to call until that day. But it was fortunate that he called us about this MECH situation, especially if two people went missing. Though my team and I rarely heard of MECH until just now. Care to explain to us about that?"

The General sighed and figured he wants answers. So much so that he would talk to him about it with a straight face.

General Bryce: "It is something we've been tied with for a while, since the Dingus extraction. They have been a credible threat as the Decepticons, even more so with the their recent attacks and weapons. This was supposed to be a secret from the lower branches, but with the MECH's recent attacks combined with the Decepticons has us all on watch. You weren't involved in this because you were busy surviving the Con attack."

Carter shrugged it off and figured it was the case.

Carter: "A little heads up would've been nice."

Bryce decided to not back track and talked to him of this action of his.

General Bryce: "Back to the subject. You all decided to handle a rescue mission to extract both John Darby and his partner. Something you need permission from your higher up."

Carter nodded and got the message.

Carter: "That's correct. All assignments need to be approved by a higher-ranking officer. And considering Lasky is the highest within the Military's combat division, I had to go see him for that assignment."

The general listened to this and turned to Lasky for his own personal opinion.

General Bryce: "Captain Lasky, is it all true."

Lasky heard that and knew that it was his turn. So sitting properly, he answered his question.

Captain Lasky: "Yes… It's all true. Noble Leader Carter came to me and told me about the situation with MECH and the missing Darby and partner. Indeed the situation is bleak and they wish to help out in anyway. So I decided to give him a certain answer."

_Flashback…_

_Captain Lasky: "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."_

_Half an hour later, both Carter and Kat were at Lasky's office as they explained to him about the MECH situation Vince talked about. Captain Lasky was at his desk with Commander Palmer by his side, listening to every word he said. But even if it means saving someone, the answer is still no. Carter heard the answer and didn't like it at all._

_Carter: "Seriously? Even after what I said, you still won't allow my team in a rescue op? Why's that?"_

_Lasky slanted his chair back and explained to him the reason why he made that decision._

_Captain Lasky: "Carter, I respect your idea of rescuing someone from a MECH controlled facility. However, I'm afraid I can't let you go there when we have bigger problems to deal with. See, the Decepticons have full control of Jasper, Nevada and have placed that dome around them to keep us from getting in. Because of this, it would be a matter of time before they decided to make a move and attack more towns along the way. Which is why we need to have all hands on station, that includes Noble Team."_

_The Commander soon approached the map behind them and pointed to the location of Jasper._

_Commander Palmer: "With the Cons having full control of the town and the barrier keeping us out, they would attack at any part of the desert when the shield lowers. They can strike anywhere, including Vegas. We already have a heavy defense around the dome incase a full on assault would happen. But we need more boots on the group to keep most of the equipment operational. You and your Noble squad would be deployed to Defense Zone 10 to keep it operational when you return from your break."_

_Cater listened to all of this and was shocked by what he was hearing. From what he gathered, he and his team were going to be in a stationary position because of rising concern with the Cons and their global conquest in the near future. Even after nearly dying in the town they were in long time ago. But what's worse, is that the mission of rescuing John and his partner is officially in the afterburner. He looked to him and told him that this was ridiculous._

_Carter: "Captain, I understand that we all need all hands on station for the incoming Decepticon attack. But with all due respect, this MECH is just as a dangerous group as the Decepticons. If this John and the partner of his are in danger, it's up to us to rescue them. Surely you heard of this terrorist group, do you?"_

_Lasky heard that and turned away, thinking of what he said. MECH… This terrorist group that resides in the US… This is a complex spot he is in._

_Captain Lasky: "I'm aware of MECH."_

_He soon got up from his chair and approached the window close to him. Looking out at the military doing their work, he explained to Carter about them._

_Captain Lasky: "I heard of the rumors and MECH and how they operate. Just a bunch of punks that wish to rule the world with the most advance of weaponry, most of which they take from others. The thought of that sickens me to the core when they come from the very country I grew up in. Even so, if MECH has something involved we cannot get involved because it's not related to the Decepticons. Hence the reason why I decided not to grant you permission on heading down there to stage a rescue."_

_Carter heard this and didn't like it at all._

_Carter: "Sir, with all due respect, we got two people in enemy territory that could be in danger. We cannot stand idly by and wait around when innocent people are in danger. And you said it yourself, MECH is home grown terror and you know them well. We need to do something."_

_Lasky heard his plea and knew that he was right, but they have to focus on what matters to most, protecting the planet from the incoming Decepticon threat. So lowering his head, he told him that they have no option._

_Captain Lasky: "I'm sorry, Carter. I wish I could let you and your team handle the rescue, but my hands are tied. The Pentagon wants all of us to be ready if another Con assault happens just like Jasper. You're dismissed."_

_Carter still wouldn't take no for an answer and tried to reason with him._

_Carter: "But sir!"_

_However, Lasky stopped him there and repeat what he said before._

_Captain Lasky: "I said, you are dismissed."_

_Carter was silent and still had to speak to him about it. But stopped and thought of something. Maybe he doesn't need to get permission from the higher ups, when he and his team can handle themselves. With a smirk he decided to make his leave._

_Carter: "Of course, sir. I understand. Thank you for your time."_

_So he gave a quick salute and Kat following suit. When the two turned and left the office, Kat was a little worried about it."_

_Kat: "Sir, I don't get you. You want to go and rescue this John Darby and now you decided not to. Care to explain to me why?"_

_Carter turned to her with a bit of a smirk and reminded him of his plan._

_Carter: "Oh, I'm still concerned about the father of Vince's friend."_

_Now it's a little confusing as the commander asked what he's planning._

_Kat: "Sir…? What exactly are you planning?"_

_That's when Carter turned to her and told her what he's thinking about._

_Carter: "I say, to hell with permissions. We're going off the books. We're going to rescue those people."_

_End Flashback..._

* * *

**So that will be the first part of the Double Trouble extra. So as promised it will be a three parter of this story. Don't really want to outstretch it too long. But it will be a connection within the actual episode. I mean, it seems like a way to stretch the other characters of my own version of Transformers Prime Season 3. So stay tune for the next chapter where Noble Team make their way to the MECH facility and rescue John and Elsa. And trust me, this will be a quick one as I already got the resources for from the previous story. Please Review. #WherearetheGoodCartoons?**


	2. The Rescue

**You know what I hate most of all. Is that when you finished with something only for it to have been taken away from you. Let me explain… See, I just finished with this chapter of the Double Trouble Extra of Noble Grilling and was planning to post it. But when I was in the middle of my proofreading to make sure that there was no correction, Microsoft word immediately closed down. No warning, no explanation, just closed. What makes it far worse is that for almost a month, I didn't save this chapter because I kept the program, and my computer one all day and night. I mean, my computer is old and I do fear that my drive would malfunction if I turn it off every night, so it was for the best. But because of this unexpected shutdown, not only that I didn't save it, but Word didn't autosave anything so I can pick up where I left off. Instead, it was opened to the most recent save, which was in December. So now all that I worked on has been lost because I was too stupid to just save it. To make matters worse, I now have to restart the whole process again, trying to remember what I wrote. Thankfully, most of it is me copy and pasting stuff from the second to last chapter of Double Trouble, but the rest of it I need to retrace and reorganized.**

**To be fair, the fault is with me and not my Word program. After all, I didn't get a chance in saving because I thought that if I leave my computer and Word on, there wouldn't be much of consequences. Turns out, I was dead wrong. So now I have to overhaul on this along with another chapter from another story I didn't save and a List of WWE matches that I started but didn't save at all. So I'm going to be super busy getting stuff on track. I am sorry if I am rushing things here, as I never expect word to shut down immediately and not recovering what I just lost. Though I was wondering if any of you writers or readers had this problem before, as I'm not the only one that experienced it. Let me know in the comments or private messaging and tell me how I should recover what I lost. Because I sure as hell not going to go through this shit again.**

**Moving away from that mess, I checked the reviews and hit counter from the first chapter of this story and I must say it doesn't look bad. Got myself three reviews and around 150 hits, so at least I have people reading it. Though some reviewers want to share ideas for future episodes and I appreciate the requests. But I have ideas of my own and I want to share it as well. Now I won't be explaining what I have planned. You all need to wait and see what I got in store for the coming chapters.**

**So now we start moving to the second part of this Double Trouble Extra as Noble Team decided to rescue John and Elsa, with or without Lasky's permission. Will they get there in time and save them both? I'm sure you know where this is going.**

**Chapter Notes**

**Now this chapter will take placed on the second to last chapter of _'Double Trouble'_. That is when Nobel comes in and raises hell to save the two while the Autobots try to stop the convoy from reaching its destination. For those of you who read that episode, you should know that there will some similarities as I would copy and past certain parts while adding a bit more to extend the scene. So as far as I'm concern, it would be a quick chapter to update. As far as the reading, you might see similar things, but it is what it is. Oh, and for those of you who are reading this story and didn't read the episode, I suggest you check the episode out first before reading this chapter. Just a bit of heads up.**

**Disclaim**er: **I don't own Transformers Prime or any video game crossover.**

* * *

Chapter Two: The Rescue

General Bryce: "So, you denied the Noble Leader the permission of a rescue because of the Decepticon threat. That seems like a bit of a questionable decision if you ask me."

The grilling continued, as Bryce was curious about what occurred with Noble and the rescue at the MECH facility. Lasky was in the middle with Carter on one end and Fowler on the other. The captain heard that and remained calm and collective, explaining about that decision.

Captain Lasky: "That's is correct. I know that he wished to save a few people from MECH and would do anything to get to them. However, the main threat is with the Decepticons. With them taking Jasper and creating a base of theirs in that town, it would be a matter of time before they begin spreading their attacks across the states, if not the world. So I have to make sure that we have all defenses around the barrier ready incase another attack will take place. Noble was supposed to be assigned to one of the defense stations when they were done with their break. But as you can see, with the three of us in your office, it doesn't seem to be the case."

Fowler overheard the captain's complaints and explained to him of the MECH situation.

Agent Fowler: "I'll have you know, captain, that MECH is a credible threat as the Cons. After the Damocles incident, MECH has been trying to achieve weapons necessary for global dominance. They nearly succeeded to with the knock off version of Optimus Prime and tried to frame him and his team. Thankfully, that is water under the bridge, as Project Chimera was trashed and Silas is MIA."

Bryce heard that and remembered the last grilling.

General Bryce: "Yes… I remember the last grilling I had with you on that incident. I also remember that I was about to cause some strict penalties on you and the team until you showed me the real Prime when this 'Nemesis Prime' is in storage down in Unit E. But this conversation isn't about the past; it's about the present. And you are not the person responsible for this mess; it's that of Carter and his squad. Though I think you were the catalyst of what transpired."

Fowler heard that and knew that that part was true. He contacted the base about MECH and their activity. But John was the one who decided to help out on the assignment and drag Elsa into the mess. So in hindsight, it wasn't mostly his fault.

Agent Fowler: "Yes, general. I understand."

Bryce soon turned his attention to Carter and went on with the questioning.

General Bryce: "Now, Carter, giving the information Lasky gave me, he stated that you are not permitted to stage a rescue to save John and his partner. Did you accept your captain's wishes and preceded with the operation he has given you once your break is over? And be honest with me. This is a fair grilling after all.

Cater heard that and took a deep breath. He knew that he has to tell the truth and not go around it. Which is why he will be honest with his answers and not lie about it all.

Carter: "Indeed I did. However, I didn't like the idea of standing by while a soldier was in danger. And I believed that my men wouldn't like it as much as me. By the time I returned to talk to them of the situation, the response was understandable."

* * *

_Flashback…_

_Barrick: "Let me get this straight. You're telling us that Lasky, the Captain, decided to not let us stage a simple rescue."_

_Noble Team gathered around the main room of the barracks, listening to what Carter and Kat had heard from the captain. Hearing that the rescue mission has been denied, they all didn't take it well, especially Barrick. Carter bowed his head down and told them that there's no way around this._

_Carter: "Sorry, Barrick, but it's true. Lasky won't let us go down to Burns Flat to rescue the father of Vince's friend. He wants us to focus on the defenses around the occupied Jasper town. He fears that the Decepticons would make their next move and we all have to be ready for it."_

_The group looked to each other and were silent by that said news. That's when Thorne came in and asked about what now._

_Thorne: "So… What you're saying is that we cannot go down there to save those two because you were denied."_

_Carter shrugged it off and responded honestly._

_Carter: "Yep, pretty much. All and all, whoever we're rescuing are on their own."_

_Barrick flayed his arms in frustration and couldn't believe that would happen._

_Barrick: "Perfect! Just perfect! Vince wants us to rescue this person and Lasky won't let us in because of a threat bigger then that?"_

_Emile crossed his arms and was a little honest about it._

_Emile: "Well to be fair, the Cons are a bigger threat then MECH."_

_Sofia turned to him and bumped him in the back._

_Sofia: "Emile! Not helping."_

_Emile felt that and turned to her._

_Emile: "What? I was just stating the facts. Can't blame him if the fate of Earth is in danger."_

_Paduk soon wondered if they're going to follow the Captain's orders._

_Paduk: "So that's it. We have to focus on the Decepticons and not with MECH. That's just a serious kick in the groin."_

_Carter looked to them and gave a bit of a smirk._

_Carter: "No… We are going to save them anyways."_

_The group heard that and was really quiet over this. That was until they all snapped and said at the same time…_

_Noble: "WHAT?!"_

_Sofia: "Sir, you can't be serious?!"_

_Thorne: "We can't go against Lasky's orders."_

_Paduk: "That's against protocol!"_

_Emile: "We would be court marshaled if we go against he books."_

_Barrick: "I like this plan."_

_Everyone stopped and looked to the demolition expert with deep glares. Barrick looked to each of them and knew he was in serious hot water._

_Barrick: "Hey! Don't look at me like that! I think this is better then waiting around doing nothing."_

_Kat looked on and figured that this was their reaction as she got to Noble Leader's side and whispered something to him._

_Kat: "That went well…"_

_Carter rolled his eyes around and sighed, knowing that that will be their reaction for his thoughts. So he decided to explain to them why he decided on this choice._

_Carter: "Look, I know this isn't the best decision, but let's look at the deeper picture. Yes, the Decepticons are a dangerous threat out here. But this MECH, even if we never encountered them before, is just as big of a treat as them, maybe more so. And if we don't rescue those two prisoners Vince mentioned, then there would be consequences. Of course, we don't know what we're up against, but it doesn't matter. We are Noble Team. We take on missions no other team can accept. We risk our lives to those that matter. We did that in Jasper when we risk everything to save the people of the town. Carmine gave his life to protect us. Now we need to give our lives to save those two in the clutches of MECH, with or without permission. If none of you don't want to risk your reputation for this rescue, you're welcome to stay and enjoy your little break. What's it going to be? Stay or fight? The choice is yours."_

_The team listened to his speech and looked to each other, wondering what to do. They want to get to that MECH facility and rescue the two prisoners. But they do not have permission from Lasky as he wants them to look after the defenses around the Con barrier. Yet, Carter wants to go in for the rescue, even without permission. That is career suicide and they know it. However, lives are in danger and the death of someone is far worse then getting suspended, or fired. They cannot let any innocent life harmed and will do anything to save them. They did it with Vince and the people of Jasper, Nevada. They can do it again. So each one of them stepped forward and said their agreements._

_Thorne: "You're right, sir. We are Noble. And we risk our lives to save those that matter."_

_Paduk: "Carmine did so and gave his life to save us all back in Jasper. We cannot let his death be in vein. We should head down there and save those two Vince mentioned."_

_Emile: "Even if it's against Lasky's orders, it's best to follow our hearts then our superiors."_

_Sofia: "Even a rookie like myself knows that lives matter in the real world. That's a duty of a S.W.A.T. officer, it's the same duty as Noble."_

_Barrick looked on and was a little hesitant. But he shrugged it off and decided to roll with it._

_Barrick: "Oh, what the Hell… Sure beats going to Miami for a bit of a break."_

_Carter looked to each of them and was happy that they are with him on this rescue mission. Smiling, he thanked them on their decision."_

_Carter: "Thank you, Noble. I appreciate your decisions. Now then, let's get this rescue mission underway."_

_But before they could begin, Kat cleared her throat and reminded him of how they are going to accomplish this._

_Kat: "As much as I like this moment, the question remains of how are we going to rescue them. I don't know if you notice this or not, but we are denied by Lasky in this rescue mission in the first place. Even if we prep ourselves, we need a ride to get there and none of the drop ships won't let us get on and fly there."_

_The group heard her and knew the commander has a point. Even if they leave, there would be no ship to take them. That's one huge hurdle they have to jump over. Thorne though looked away and wondered something._

_Thorne: "Well… I think I know someone who can help us get there. Though I don't know if she'll be happy to see me."_

_The group turned to the rookie and wondered whom he was mentioning. Carter soon approached him and asked away._

_Carter: "Who? Is this a pilot of a drop ship? Some sort of connection? How do you know her?"_

_Thorne moved his neckline around and try to be cautious of this one._

_Thorne: "It's complicated…"_

* * *

_Half an hour later, one of the drop ships was loaded up and ready to take off, but it wasn't under permission from anyone. In the back, the last of Noble walked up the ramp and got on while the back door slowly closes. At the same time, a pilot was doing a cross system check on the ship, ready to deploy under new orders from a certain someone._

_"Cross system check is complete. Standing by for take off. Ready to take off on your say so."_

_Approaching the side of the pilot, Thorne patted her shoulder and was happy that she can help them._

_Thorne: "Thanks for the help. I don't know what to do without you."_

_The pilot smirked and was glad to help._

_"No need to thank me. I'm just helping an old boyfriend out is all."_

_He soon turned around and returned to the team. Entering the waiting area, the group was prepping and loading their weapons, waiting to leave. As they were preparing, Thorne let them know that they're ready._

_Thorne: "All right, we're all set to go. All she needs is the location and we're good."_

_Carter heard him and was happy with the news._

_Carter: "Nice going, Thorne. Once we take off in the air, I'll provide her with the coordinates."_

_Thorne nodded and knew that he was right about that one._

_Thorne: "Of course, sir. Once you guys are ready, I'll let her know."_

_He soon walked away and headed to his rifle, checking to make sure that it's loaded and ready to fight. As he was checking, Emile got to one side and decided to speak his mind._

_Emile: "So… This pilot… She's your girlfriend or something?"_

_Thorne heard that and turned with a bit of a shock._

_Throne: "What? No! Of course not! She's just an old crush back in military academy. Nothing more."_

_Barrick soon got next to him on the other side and was a little cocky._

_Barrick: "Right… An old crush… That's nothing out of the ordinary."_

_Thorne groaned and knew that they were pushing the envelope. So he looked to the two and explains to them about his relationship with the pilot._

_Thorne: "Hey! That was a long time ago. We both moved on since then, but we were still friends. Even promised each other and we ever need help, we come together to do that. Who would've thought that this help would come now?"_

_The two looked to each other and had devious smirks on their faces, even Emile considering that he has a helmet on him. So they asked the one question they have been thinking._

_Emile: "Actually, what we wanted to ask is did you do her."_

_Thorne looked to them quizzically and figured that was something they would ask. So he sighed and answered them truthfully._

_Thorne: "It was this one time… We made out inside a flight simulator."_

_The two looked to each other and gave a bit of a chuckle._

_Emile: "Really? A flight simulator? You got busy in that of all places. Well, I hear of more bizarre places then that. So what happened? Did you reach third base?"_

_Thorne look to the scout and groaned a bit._

_Thorne: "No… We were both suspended for a week after crashing that flight simulator into a wall. It was a bit of a mess."_

_Barrick and Emile heard that and were surprised that would happen._

_Barrick: "Ouch… That's harsh… And even after all that, you were just suspended. I'm surprised that you didn't get expelled from the military academy."_

_Thorne was silent and didn't want to talk about it._

_Throne: "Yeah… Well it's a better punishment then what you said. That's the reason why we decided to be friends."_

_Barrick: "Still, there is one question that's on my mind. When you were on that flight simulator, did you have the time to rub the ass, or smack it?"_

_The two soon started to laugh it up after the joke, much to Thorne's dismay. Thankfully, Sofia soon approached the three and just had enough with the conversation._

_Sofia: "All right you three, that's enough. Any more from you horny dogs, would make me sick."_

_Paduk soon joined in and decided that they should focus on the task at hand._

_Paduk: "Besides, we have more pressing matters then who makes out with who. We still need to rescue two prisoners from MECH. Or have you already forgotten."_

_Emile and Barrick turned to the two and was just having some fun._

_Emile: "Oh, c'mon guys. We're just having some laughs."_

_Barrick: "Yeah! It was suppose to be funny. Can't you guys take a joke?"_

_Sofia placed her hands on her hips and wasn't impressed._

_Sofia: "Uh-huh… Very funny, boys. Ha, ha, ha… So good that I forgot to laugh."_

_Paduk crossed his arms and thought the same thing._

_Paduk: "You are not fooling us Comrades. We know you are nothing but American pigs."_

_The two were silent and didn't know how to respond. Ultimately, they hung their heads down and decided to let it go._

_Emile: "Sorry, guess we went a little ahead."_

_Barrick: "Yeah… We were just joking around before the mission. That's our way to prepping."_

_That was when Carter and Kat approached the group and told everyone that they're ready._

_Carter: "All right, we are all set. Thorne, contact the pilot. Let her know that we are ready to leave."_

_Thorne heard that and was completely relieved that he can get out of this awkward conversation._

_Thorne: "Understood sir. I'll get right on it."_

_He soon walked away and contacted the pilot on leaving. As he was doing that, Carter and Kat looked to the rest of the group and were a little bit confused of what has happened._

_Carter: "Um… What did we miss?"_

_That's when Sofia stepped on and decided to not fill the two in on what was going on._

_Sofia: "Trust me, sir. It's something you don't want to take a part of."_

_She soon walked away to have a seat at the bench to wait. The two looked on with a bit of confusion and turned back to wonder what she meant. That's when Paduk, Barrick, and Emile shrugged their shoulders at the same time while the sniper expert responded._

_Paduk: "As the old saying goes; don't ask, don't tell."_

_Carter raised an eyebrow and wondered what that meant. But Kat assured him that it would be nothing._

_Kat: "Now, now, sir. I'm sure it's nothing too serious. Besides, we should focus on the rescue."_

_Carter sighed and knew that she does have a really good point._

_Carter: "I know. Focus on the mission, worry about everything else."_

_At the same time, Thorne returned to the cockpit and told the pilot to get in the air._

_Thorne: "All right, we're all set. Take us in the air."_

_The pilot nodded and begins the take off procedure._

_"All right, final system's check in place, we're ready to lift off. Hang on to something."_

_Once she got the final ignition sequence going, she pulled the lever up and the thrusters of the ship spark to life. Slowly the ship begins to take off and was already off the ground by a couple of feet. But as they were about to leave, static came from the radio and the flight coordinator was on it._

**_"Echo 7, report in. The flight deck notices you taking off. There isn't anything on the schedule of your departure."_**

_The two looked to each other and figured that the flight command would notice something like that. The pilot soon decided to contact command and explained with a bit of a lie._

_"Copy that, command. We are preparing to leave for a training exercise not far from the base. Preparation for a future Decepticon attack is key for success. Am I right?"_

**_"That is understandable, but we haven't received any orders from Lasky on any future training. That is standard protocol."_**

_The pilot rolled her eyes around decided to bring the hammer to flight command._

_"Well you're receiving them now! Straight from the mouth of Captain Lasky. Now you wouldn't want to disobey a direct order from your captain, now would you?"_

_There was a bit of silence as she waited for a response from flight command. After what appeared to be forever, the two heard a response from command._

**_"Green light. Green light for take off."_**

_The pilot and Thorne smirked and knew that they have command duped._

_"Thank you command, that's really appreciated of you."_

_She soon turned off the comm. system and immediately took off from the base and headed to the rescue point. The moment the drop ship left, Throne turned to her and gave her the thumbs up._

_Thorne: "Nice call…"_

_The pilot turned to him and smirked at the response._

_"Don't mention it. Flight command would believe that Lasky made orders of any departures or arrivals across the base. It was so easy in convincing him that the captain sent the order to me and delivered it to him"_

_As she was talking, Carter came in to the pilot deck and wanted to make this quick, overhearing the conversation._

_Carter: "Either way, we have to get the rescue going and fast before Lasky suspects something. In and out, nice and simple."_

_Pilot heard this and got the idea as well._

_"Sounds like a plan. So where are I'm taking you?"_

_Carter went between them and told the pilot on where to go._

_Carter: "Burns Flat, Oklahoma. That's where we rescue anyone in enemy territory."_

_So the drop ship started to fly into the sky and headed to the locations Carter presented to her._

_End Flashback…_

* * *

General Bryce: "So you convinced a pilot to take you to this MECH controlled facility without permission from Lasky?"

Carter groaned at that and explained again about the pilot.

Carter: "Again, that pilot is an old flame of Thorne's back in the academy days. They promised to help each other on problems and this is the way to get us to where we need to go."

Bryce looked into the report on that day and was curious about the excuse.

General Bryce: "And it says here in this report that the pilot explained to flight command that she was heading to a training exercise, when in reality, there was none scheduled. Yet command granted her permission anyways because she said, and I quote, 'That is was under Captain's Lasky's orders'."

The Noble Leader slouched back and reminded him of Lasky's recent demands.

Carter: "Well, ever since the attack of Jasper, Lasky started to apply new orders to prepare for another assault. Those include constant training regiments to be more ready for the Decepticons. And any and all personnel need permission from him in order to implement these new orders."

Lasky heard his reasons and understood it.

Captain Lasky: "He's right. I administered new rules to get us ready for the next Decepticon attack to protect this country. Carter and his unit must've used this protocol as an excuse to handle the illegal rescue op. I should've just restricted it even more so that order would come directly from me and not in the mouths of others."

The general listened to the two sides and figured that was the problem.

General Bryce: "Yes, that seems likely the case. The fault is solely focus on Noble Team's inexcusable actions and not yours. Still, you need to start restricting your rules and have your personnel double check if the orders came from you and not from others."

The captain nodded and got the consequences.

Captain Lasky: "I'll handle that as soon as this grilling is over."

Carter glared at him and was getting annoyed by this.

Carter: "Hmph… Figures you get a slap in the wrist while I am getting prepared by a firing squad."

The captain turned to him and told him that this is all on him and not his own.

Captain Lasky: "Don't be so modest, Carter. It is your actions that got us both here. Do you think I want to be here when I have to be ready for another Decepticon attack on a terrorist level event? I don't think so."

Fowler soon turned to the captain and told him that who the real protectors are.

Agent Fowler: "And you should know that the Autobots should be the ones to stop the Decepticons and not the US Military. They are the only force to save humanity from their tyranny."

Lasky looked to the agent and reminded him of the situation in regards to Team Prime.

Captain Lasky: "But for how long, Agent Fowler. Let me remind you of the campaign Godfree and Attinger are plotting to kick our only hope off world. If they are to succeed when the emergency summit at the UN starts, then our only hope won't be around to save us. When that happens, we need to be the last line of defense against them. You of all people should know this."

Agent Fowler: "They won't succeed. It doesn't matter how much backing they have with the public. They should know that the Decepticons are a threat to this planet as a whole. It was proven when they used the Omega Lock to try to cyberform this planet and then the Jasper Invasion. If we remove the only chance we have against them, kiss the future of our children, and our children's children goodbye."

The general decided that he heard enough and told them to stop this.

General Bryce: "All right, you two, knock it off! We will worry about the Autobot situation when the UN summit comes around. Right now, we need to focus on Noble Team's action and how the punishment should be approached."

The two stopped their bickering and followed the general's advice. Bryce soon turned to Cater and told him to continue.

General Bryce; "Now Carter, this rescue mission you and your team implemented… Can you please explain to us where it all went wrong."

Carter turned to him and sighed, wanting to hear his side of the story.

Carter: "Well, since you asked nicely. On a technicality, it didn't go really wrong. Let's just say that that we weren't expecting MECH to be a dangerous force when we arrived."

* * *

_Flashback…_

_Night has befallen on the forest of Oklahoma as the stars started to shine. Up in the night sky, the drop ship started to fly down to the target and flew without detection, yet. Inside the ship, the pilot checked on his GPS and noticed that they were getting close to target. She soon told the Noble Leader of the progress._

_"We're already approaching the airforce base. ETA: Five minutes. I'll let you know when we arrive as soon as I have a visual."_

* * *

_In the prep deck, Carter heard her through the comm. and got the message._

_Carter: "Understood. Let us know when you see the base."_

_He soon turned off his comm. and looked to his team, with their weapons armed and ready for a fight._

_Carter: "All right! Listen up!"_

_Noble stood at attention and waited for order for this leader. He soon approached them and picked up his MA5B assault rife and told them on what to do._

_Carter: "We're just about to reach the rendezvous point. The moment we arrive, we swoop in, get to the POWs, and get out. Our pilot will drop us off when we leave and return when we retrieve the captors. Remember, we don't know what we're up against. MECH is an unknown force we barely heard of. So my advice to all of you is to keep your eyes on the prize, fingers on the triggers, and watch your corners. Understand!"_

_Noble Team stood straight and responded in unison._

_Noble Team: "Sir, yes sir!"_

_The leader heard their responses and knew that they're ready._

_Carter: "Good! Now prepare yourself! This is going to be a battle we will not be expecting. Dismissed!"_

_The group soon dispersed and got check their weapons for the coming battle. Emile loaded his M45D tactical shotgun with shells and was a little miffed about what he said._

_Emile: "Hmph… Expect the unexpected. He says that he doesn't know what we're up against? We experienced before when the Decepticons attacked us in Jasper. And look how we survived."_

_Barrick approached his friend holding his GP-25 grenade launcher and agreed with him with one exception._

_Barrick: "That might be true. But this is MECH we're talking about here. Some ragtag terrorist group comprised of rouge soldiers and twisted scientists. And from what I heard, they are a force to be reckon with. We don't even know if they are just as bad as the Cons, if not worse."_

_Paduk soon joined them with his GZ18 Markza sniper rifle and assured them that they are going to make it._

_Paduk: "Not to worry comrades. Once we get in there, we will know first hand on what these bastards are capable of. And if word has it that they have Cons of their own, there's only one way in handling them; one bullet to the visor and blind them completely."_

_The two looked to him and was cautious about it._

_Emile: "Sure, that worked before. Don't know if it will work again."_

_As they were talking, Thorne and Sofia were on the other side and were loading their weapons for the attack. With the former S.W.A.T. member readying her DMR rifle and thought about that pilot Thorne knew about. That's when she started asking about her._

_Sofia: "So… You and this pilot… Didn't think you were that smitten with her."_

_Thorne groaned and put away his BR85HB SR Battle Rifle, explaining to her that it was a long time ago._

_Thorne: "Look Sofia, that was back at the academy days. We went our separate ways since then. Besides, I was a bit young and reckless at that age. Now, I'm more responsible for whatever comes at me."_

_Sofia: "Still, with what's been going on as of late. I'm quite surprised that you can still keep in touch after that long."_

_The rookie rolled his eyes around and told her that it was nothing._

_Thorne: "Hey, we were both assigned to this operation after Jasper was attacked. I was shocked to know that she was going to be there. But at least we reminiscent on the old days. We are still friends after all."_

_Sofia: "But from what I was hearing, you two were more then friends."_

_That was about it as he decided to shut her up on that._

_Thorne: "All right, drop it won't you? I was just trying to be helpful. After all, it was a long time ago."_

_Sofia rolled her eyes around and still thinks something went on with them in the past._

_Sofia: "You go tell yourself that. Sooner or later, you will say it."_

_As the conversation was going on, Kat was with Carter holding her M392 Marksman Rifle and decided to speak to him about what he's doing._

_Kat: "Look, I know that you wanted to do the right thing and I respect you on that. However, you need to know that what we're doing is against Lasky's orders. If he finds out about what you've done…"_

_Carter got the message and lifts his hand up to assure her that he knows what will become of the team._

_Carter: "I know… And I'm certain that the captain will figure things out the moment we begin this rescue."_

_Kat: "And when that happens, what are you planning to do?"_

_He gave it a bit of thought until he figured out what needs to be done._

_Carter: "I know. If we all get caught, I'm putting myself to blame. I don't want any of you to get dragged into this mess. When I take the blunt, you will be in charge. It's the least I can do."_

_The second in command looked to him quizzically and didn't like this plan._

_Kat: "You know, you can't rush into things. The team won't be the same without you."_

_Carter nodded and didn't know what else to do._

_Carter: "But what else can I do? As far as I'm concerned, putting myself at fault seems to be the only option I can do. After all, I can't let Noble Team get punished completely."_

_She thought about it and came up with an option._

_Kat: "Why don't you speak honestly? I'm sure that with some talking, you might be able to iron things out with Lasky."_

_Hearing that thought, he decided to follow her advice and thanked her for that._

_Carter: "Thanks for advice. I'll be sure to handle it the best way possible. I just hope it doesn't get all of us into trouble."_

_The commander smiled and told him that it would be all right._

_Kat: "I'm sure things won't go from bad to worse, sir. We just need to wait and see."_

_When all the conversations were over, they could hear the pilot on the speaker._

_"I got a visual on the airfield. You might want to come and see for yourself!"_

_Carter heard that and decided to check it out. But not before turning to Kat and telling her that everything would be all right._

_Carter: "Don't worry. I'm sure nothing bad would happen."_

_He soon walked away and headed to the cockpit. Kat looked to him leaving and was still worried about it._

_Kat: "I hope you're right, sir."_

_Carter soon managed to reach the cockpit and sat next to the pilot, wondering what she found_

_Carter: "Well… What is it you want me to see?"_

_The pilot soon pointed to what she found and told him._

_"Take a good look, sir. I do believe we are at the right place."_

_Hearing that, Carter turned to where she was pointing at and looked to see what is in front of them. That's when he saw the Clinton-Sherman Airforce Base that is under MECH Control. It looks like a normal airforce base complete with a runway, bunkers, and a control tower, but it was showing signs of age as it was abandon a long time ago. But looking further, he could tell that MECH made themselves right at home. There were watchtowers and anti air defense missile launchers surrounding the area and he could see those MECHicons scattered around. He also notices an air carrier on the runaway about ready to leave as soldiers were standing in attention for someone. The Noble leader looked to this and knew that they were in the right place._

_Carter: "Sure looks that way. And judging by the armaments they're packing, certainly threatening."_

_The pilot soon asked on where to land._

_"Do you want me to drop you off someplace close by to avoid detection?"_

_He kept looking at the facility and realized that there's no time for that._

_Carter: "That won't be necessary. We have two captives in that place and they need to be rescued now. We just need to be dropped off within enemy territory."_

_She heard that and was quite surprised by his decision._

_"You sure this is a wise idea, sir? Security there looks pretty tight and I don't know if this bird can withstand an all out assault."_

_Carter thought of it and decided to strike now while they have the element of surprise._

_Carter: "Then it's time to give them a taste of our own arsenal. Does this ship have any weapons?"_

_The pilot turned to him and answered his question._

_"Yes it does. Standard machine gun turrets and rocket launchers on the wings. Perfect for aerial combat."_

_Hearing that, Carter knew that this was the right opportunity to strike while they can._

_Carter: "Good. Now open fire. It's time to knock at their door."_

_She heard him and was shocked that he wanted to go head on. But considering the situation, she had no choice in the matter._

_"Copy that. Weapons hot!"_

_Pushing the two buttons on the steering wheel, she fired a rocket and it flew straight to the base. That in turn led to the rocket hitting the MECHicon in the back destroyed it completely. She soon fired a few more missiles and they started to hit random things within the airforce base. Once Noble got their attention, Carter told her that it will be enough._

_Carter: "That's enough! We don't want to blow up the entire facility, just weaken its defenses. Get us closer to the base, we need to extract the captives."_

_The pilot heard that and responded in kindly._

_"Understood! Approaching the facility."_

_The drop ship soon started to head down to the facility that was already in a panic. Once they flew over the facility, the pilot noticed a good enough spot and told the Noble leader on where to go._

_"Looks like we got a good enough clearing through the alleyway. I'll see if I drop you guys off and leave. Contact me when you find your captives."_

_Carter heard that and got the message._

_Carter: "No problem. Just don't go to far. We don't want to leave on our own."_

_Suddenly, the two heard beeping coming from the console. The pilot soon looked at the radar and noticed multiple boogies following her ship._

_"Shit! Enemy missiles! Hang on!"_

_With that said, she lifted the steering wheel up and the ship went to a quick loop and the missiles started to track their every move. By the time the loop went mid way through, came down and went back to the attack, firing more missiles right at a stockade of propane tanks. They all blow up on contact and create a huge plume of fire, coming right through it. The missiles touch the flames and were destroyed from the high heat. More missile launchers soon took aim at the ship heading straight towards them and were prepared to fire. But two machine gun turrets on both wings fired a large arsenal of bullets and took them out completely. Carter held on and was surprised by how good she was. Turning, he thanked her on the moves._

_Carter: "Nice flying. Maybe we could use you as part of Noble's pilot."_

_She heard him and couldn't help but to smile. But that was short lived as she heard more beeping and looked to the radar to realize that they were surrounded._

_"Save the promotion for later, sir. Right now, we got boogies incoming!"_

_Pretty soon, MECH soldiers and MECHicons gathered around and use their entire disposal to eliminate the ship with the remaining air defense cannons firing away. The drop ship avoided all the projectiles, as explosions became fireworks and bullets and energy projectiles rain all over them. The pilot soon flew around for another go and could tell that getting down there would be impossible._

_"Damn it! Sorry boss, but the LZ looks really hot. Can't drop you all off in the base."_

_The leader of the group heard this and decided to take a huge risk._

_Carter: "Then it looks like we go to Plan B. All right team, arm up! We're moving out!"_

_The pilot heard that and was shocked at what he's going to do._

_"What? Hold on! You're going to jump out of the ship? Sir, with all due respect, the odds of surviving the jump, let alone in enemy territory, is extremely slim."_

_The leader heard that and reminded her that he and his team got it._

_Carter: "Duly noted. Just focus on the flying and we'll handle the rescue mission. Once we jump, you high tale it out of here. Once we get the captives out of there, we'll contact you for a pick up."_

_There was a bit of silence until the pilot acknowledged it._

_"Understood. I'll drop you off at the ally between the bunkers. That's the only safe place to drop. Once you land, you're on your own."_

_Carter: "Got it. Wish us luck."_

_"Good luck. And Godspeed."_

_He soon got off the chair and approached the hanger bay to see his team holding on for dear life. Emile turned to him and demanded what just happened._

_Emile: "What the hell is going on out there? This place went from a smooth flight to a roller coaster ride."_

_Carter rubbed the back of his head and told them of the situation._

_Carter: "Apparently MECH got the message. We have to make the jump and charge into where the two captives are. Once we get them, we contact our EVAC to get us out."_

_Everyone heard him and was silent by that as the ship rocked after getting hit. Thorne though decided to break the silence._

_Thorne: "Hold up! You're telling me that we have to go into a hot spot, grab our boys, then wait until our ride returns. Sir, I think that's a suicide mission."_

_Barrick nodded and agreed as well._

_Barrick: "For once, I agree with him. As much as I want to jump right into Hell, I don't think we can last against an unknown force."_

_Carter sighed and knew that they were hesitant, so he explained to them that they don't have any choice._

_Carter: "Look, I get it. We are outclassed and outnumbered, but we are Noble Team. We dealt with things far worse back in Jasper. We can handle this. So are you in or out."_

_The two looked to each other and wondered what to do. They all made it this far and there was nowhere to turn back to. Feeling another hit outside, they have no choice in the matter._

_Kat: "Well, guess it's no way out of it. We're with you, sir, all the way."_

_The others soon joined in and agreed to that._

_Thorne: "You and me both."_

_Sofia: "Amen to that."_

_Emile: "We'll keep fighting in the end."_

_Paduk: "действительно"_

_Barrick: "True that…"_

_Carter heard that and smiled, knowing that they all are going to be with him. They all soon felt another hit and decided to make their leave now._

_Carter: "Good. Cause we need to get down there now otherwise we won't have a ride to return to._

_He soon approached the garage door at the hanger bay and hit the button, letting it lower to open. Once it was fully lowered, he turned to his team and told them to move._

_Carter: "All right! Move out, Noble Team!"_

_He soon jumped off the ramp and fall to the air force base. The others soon followed suit and jumped to join him. Once they all landed, they have their weapons ready and started the rescue mission. But just as they arrived, they were immediately bombarded with bullets and blaster fire as they spread out and ducked their heads down._

_Carter: "Enemy sighted! Keep your head down and get to cover!"_

_The group soon got to cover and hid behind random objects, be that crates, trucks, and chest high barricades. They soon got to covering fire and shoot anything they could see. Thorne and Sofia got out of cover and fired their rifles to make headshots at the MECH soldiers close to them. They soon ducked down as they got everyone's attention. That attention turned into a distraction, as there was a grenade that rolled down to the first group of soldiers. That soon exploded and set them flying all across the field. Barrick, who threw the grenade, saw it all go down and was successful with his work._

_Barrick: "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Eat it you masked assholes!"_

_Just then, he saw green projectiles coming towards him and ducked his head as they were flying overhead. Turns out, three MECHicons approached their position and started to fire at them, hoping to take them out. The one leading them were getting closer and was about to take them out. But then, a lone bullet hit the visor and he was completely blind. The bot freaked out and fired wildly, hitting anything it comes across, including his own comrades. Turns out, Paduk took the shot and watched as the MECHicon fired blindly at anything but them. Lowering his scope, he salute and mention something in Russian._

_Paduk: "Слепой огонь!"_

_He soon got down as more bullet fire started to target him next. The battle was hard, but they have to push through and get to the captives. Carter knows it and needs to hurry. Turning to Emile, he told him to get moving._

_Carter: "Emile, get to Hanger 6 immediately and extract the captives! Take Thorne and Sofia with you as backup! We'll provide covering fire for you!"_

_Emile heard that and turned to nod._

_Emile: "Copy that. Thorne! Sofia! With me!"_

_The two recruits turned to the scout and heard his orders. Quickly the two got out of cover and headed to his position while shooting their rifles to provide for covering fire. Once they reach him, the three headed straight to Hanger 6, where the two captives are located. Carter soon told the others to keep MECH busy._

_Carter: "Keep them occupied for as long as possible. Emile needs to get in and out with those two. Once he does that, we need to clear the area for a pick up and hold the line until our drop ship gets here."_

_Kat soon reloaded her weapon and was a little unsure about this plan._

_Kat: "Not sure if this was a wise idea. Going in without orders from the higher ups, that's a risk we are all taking."_

_Carter armed his weapon and agreed with her._

_Carter: "Well, we didn't have much of a choice. Our little honorary Noble member wanted to make sure that this John Darby and this Elsa de Sica needs a little rescuing. And from what we heard, this MECH is definitely a dangerous force. We just need to hold them off until we retrieve the two. Now let's get this over with."_

_He turned to the other two members and told them to do what they do best._

_Carter: "Barrick! Paduk! Time to raise Hell!"_

_The two turned to him and had smiles on their faces._

_Barrick: "Oh yeah! Now you're speaking my language!"_

_Paduk loaded up his Markza and was just as happy about it as his teammate._

_Paduk: "For once, I could agree with you comrade."_

_With that, all four of them got out of cover and were prepared for a dangerous battle. Barrick fired his grenade launcher and fired multiple rounds around the field. They all exploded and sent half the forces flying in many directions. The rest soon retaliated and fired multiple shots at those that are at the most vulnerable._

* * *

_As the fight was going on, Emile, Thorne, and Sofia was rushing ahead to find the two captives. But with soldiers and MECHicons around them, it would be impossible to find them._

_Sofia: "This place is vast. How the Hell are we going to find these two?"_

_The scout noticed something from one of the hangers, Hanger 6 as it's called, and saw a group of heavies charging into and fully armed. Seeing this, he told the others to follow him._

_Emile: "I'm going to take a wild guess and say they are there. Let's go!"_

_So he hurried to that hanger while the two recruits followed him. But just as they were about to hurry, a group of MECH soldiers stopped them with their rifles armed and ready._

_"Stop them!"_

_The group pointed to them and opened fire. The three immediately stopped and get to cover behind some crates. They soon got their weapons armed and fired at them while in cover. They managed to shoot a couple of them, but there were too many of them and there was no other way around them._

_Thorne: "Shit! There's too many of them! How are we going to get out of this crap!?"_

_Emile heard that and looked for another way out of it. That's when he noticed a bunch of red barrels that would appear to be flammable. Seeing this, he decided to use it for an advantage._

_Emile: "I got a crazy idea. But you better get into cover for this one. Wait until I give you my signal."_

_Sofia heard that and was confused._

_Sofia: "Signal? What signal?"_

_Thorne knew what he is planning._

_Thorne: "Oh, trust me. You are in for quite a treat."_

_So the two got into cover as Emile cocked his shotgun and was ready to pull it right off. Soon enough, he got out of cover and fired the first barrel. That in turn caused it to explode and sent half of them flying and falling. He soon took aim at the second barrel and fired it, causing it to blow up, pushing the rest of them down. Once he did that, he told the two to handle the group._

_Emile: "Now! Take them out!"_

_So the two got out of cover and all three of them mowed down the group while they were recovering and wipe them all off. One of them managed to get up and tried to get his rifle. But Emile quickly got his battle knife out and tossed it towards him. The soldier soon got hit by the back and tumbled to death. With the area cleared, the scout got his knife out and cleaned it with his sleeve, looking at the mess he had put together._

_Emile: "Area's secured. Let's get in that hanger to find them."_

_So he hurried to get to the hanger, while the two looked to each other and was surprised that the plan did work._

_Sofia: "Man, he's sick in the head."_

_Thorne sighed and told her that it was the better part._

_Thorne: "You think that's bad. Try living with him."_

_The two soon followed him and managed to enter the hanger. Looking around, they could tell that this looked like some sort of workshop with metal hooks and tools and such. And judging by the look of it, it seems like they were building something really big. Too bad it was cleaned out and no evidence around it. But no sign of the two spies. They soon started to wonder where to begin._

_Thorne: "Well, we're here. But I don't see anyone in here."_

_Emile looked at this and started to wonder about this._

_Emile: "That's impossible! I saw those big guys in armor somewhere inside. They have to be around. Spread out and search. Those two have to be around."_

_Sofia turned her head and noticed something from the distance._

_Sofia: "Hey, I think I found something. This way!"_

_She soon rushed ahead and the two turned to see her go._

_Thorne: "Hey! Wait up! Don't leave us on your own!"_

_The two soon followed her and managed to reach her as she was hiding. The two got behind her and wondered what she found. That's when she told them what she found in a whisper._

_Sofia: "Look. I think I found what we're looking for."_

_She soon pointed to what she was looking at as the two checked to see what she's referring to. That's when they noticed a bunch of heavies with duel chain guns and flamethrowers. But what's in the middle appear to be two people. The first one appeared to be a man in his forties with black hair and blue eyes dressed in a MECH uniform, preferably used for a disguise. The second person looked to be a little kid, who looks feminine, but dressed in some sort of armor with a green and yellow paintjob and was wearing a helmet with visor and mouth guard that has ponytail blades that extend downwards. Those two were in fact, Jonathan Darby, the father of Jack Darby and Elsa de Sica, a former SWA soldier in Italy and partner of John. The three looked on and could tell that they found what they're looking for._

_Thorne: "Well, it looks like we found them, though I think that they're in trouble."_

_Emile checked the threat and could tell that they were over their heads._

_Emile: "And judging by the heat MECH is packing, doesn't look good at all. We need to get down there and get them out of that."_

_The rookie though turned to him and was a little concerned._

_Thorne: "Huh, yeah… About that. Incase you didn't see it, MECH looked to be heavily armed to the teeth. How are we going to stop them?!"_

_Emile looked at the group again and noticed the one weakness that's there. The propane tanks on their backs._

_Emile: "Maybe, but it looks like those propane tanks on their backs could be the only weakness. If we take them out, we can dwindle their forces. If we can find a way to get close to them."_

_Sofia looked to all of this and wondered how to keep them distracted. That's when she took out a flash bang from her belt and came up with a solution._

_Sofia: "I think I got an idea…"_

_Quickly, the three started to spread out and went to three different directions, ready to dish out Sofia's plan. Thorne looked at this and wondered if what she has is going to work._

_Thorne: "You sure this plan of yours will work?"_

_Sofia heard him through the comm. and told him that it will._

_Sofia: "Trust me, this will work. When I toss this flash bang in the middle, it will blind those goons and that's when we charge in and go for the kill. It's perfect."_

_Emile heard the plan on his end and was impressed._

_Emile: "I must say, Sofia. You are pretty good with strategies."_

_Sofia chuckled a little and told him of her previous occupation._

_Sofia: "Well, when you are apart of S.W.A.T., you need to strategize for victory. Now get ready. We need to hurry now before those two are K.I.A."_

_So the three started to ready their weapons and were about to charge. That's when Sofia started to toss the flash bang to the group and it rolled in-between the two of the heavies. One of them looked down and wondered what it was. That was when that the bang exploded and blinded the two in a blinding light. The two captives saw that and nearly blinded as well, not knowing what's going on. Just then, Sofia and Thorne came barging in and pointed their rifles right at the heavy's backs. The bullets hit the canisters and they started to spew out flames. The two felt that and tried to get them off their backs. But they had their chain guns in their fists and couldn't get them off. In a matter of moments, the tanks exploded and killed the two in mere moments. The other two saw that and noticed the two Noble teammates approaching them. Seeing the situation, the two focus their attention at the two more intruders and started to fire on them. They both saw that and immediately got into cover behind the metal crates. Looking to the remaining heavies, Thorne looked to situation and figured it was too dangerous._

_Thorne: "Well, this was a bad idea. Where the Hell is Emile? Isn't he supposed to be with us?"_

_Sofia peered to him and figured out the answer._

_Sofia: "Oh, where do you think?"_

_Meanwhile, the remaining heavies were busy with the two while becoming oblivious to what is going to come next. In the shadows, someone was keeping watch and saw an opening loaded his shotgun and was on the move. The heavies kept on firing and not realizing what's going to come. That's when a few grenades came in and blew up from behind. It didn't kill them, but caused them to stumble, nearly falls to the floor. This gave Emile the chance to attack and got out of cover, rushing towards them. Pointing to the third heavy, he fired his shotgun at the tank and it exploded, killing him. He was going to target the next one and fired, but the last Heavy recovered fast and turned to knock the Emile off his feet, causing him to loose his shotgun as it slid to the end. Emile felt a little daze and looked up to see the heavy pointing his weapon with the flamethrower started to light up. Emile saw that and was smiling behind his metal visor._

_Emile: "Hate to break it to you, big guy, but you forgot my teammates."_

_Just like that, bullets and energy projectiles hit the Heavy's back and hit the tanks, spewing out bits of fire. What happened is that John and Elsa saw it all and decided to aid these soldiers. Seeing Emile in trouble, they decided to assist him and get him out of there. So they fired the last Heavy and destroyed the tank. The Heavy felt that and screamed in agony. Emile noticed it and got his knife out of his holster. Twisting it ready he jabbed it to the throat and, cutting off the windpipe completely, killing him. Kicking him off of him, the scout quickly got up and ran for it. The dead Heavy was on his back and the flames kept leaking out of the tank until his corpse exploded completely. Soon enough, all four heavies were burned and destroyed, leaving nothing behind. Emile gave a sigh of relief and was trying to recover from the attack. John and Elsa joined him and were curious about him and his comrades._

_John Darby: "Well… This was something unexpected. Never in my life my partner and I would get help. Normally, it would be the Autobots. But I never expect you three. Who are you guys?"_

_Emile brushed himself and headed back to pick up his shotgun. As he was heading down there, Throne and Sofia approached the two and made an introduction._

_Thorne: "We're a part of Noble Team. I'm Thorne, this is Sofia, and that's Emile. We're here to rescue you and your friend."_

_John turned to the two and was curious about that._

_John Darby: "Noble? I never heard of you guys."_

_Sofia soon approached them and explained about their work._

_Sofia: "Well, let's just say that we work under the orders of Unit E after the Invasion of Jasper. So we take orders from the Lasky, or Palmer. This one on the other hand, is a small favor."_

_Elsa opened up her visor and mouth guard and was curious on what Sofia was mentioning._

_Elsa de Sica: "Small favor? To whom, may I ask?"_

_That's when Emile came back with his shotgun and answered the techno organic's question."_

_Emile: "By an friend and honorary Noble teammate. I don't know if you heard of him. Vince."_

_Both of them turned back to the scout with John have a bit of a shock._

_John Darby: "Vince? You mean the Vince that my son and his friends know. A former bully who has a change of heart?"_

_All three members looked to each other and was surprised that he knew him. They looked back and explained about the situation._

_Thorne: "Uh… Yeah… You could say that. Vince use to live in Jasper too. With his family killed by Decepticons during the Jasper Invasion and his vengeance on them, we made him an honorary member when Carmine got killed by one of them. Bless his soul."_

_Sofia: "We've been in contact with him from time to time when we have free time. But he called us today explaining what is going on. He said that you and your partner could be in grave danger and gave us the location of where you both were. Which is why we are here. To help stage a rescue."_

_Emile: "Yeah, but we did that without permission from our superiors. I only could imagine what Lasky would have to say about that."_

_Thorne turned to Emile and told him to worry about that later._

_Thorne: "Let's worry about being court marshaled later. Right now, we should get your two out of here. The rest of the team is waiting for us outside, holding off these terrorists. Our pick up we'll be arriving momentarily. I'm just hoping that you two will come and assist us until our ship returns."_

_The two heard that and could tell that they are here to help them. And they need all the help they could get. With that, John approached the three and decided to join them._

_John Darby: "Only if I get my revenge. I'm in."_

_Elsa soon joined him and agreed with his handler._

_Elsa de Sica: "Count me in too."_

_The three heard them and was glad that they would accept the help. So Thorne took a pistol out of his holster and loaded a fresh clip, tossing it to John. The Darby managed to grab it and looked to the pistol, which was a M-11 Scorpion pistol._

_Thorne: "It's not much, but it packs a powerful punch. You might need it in the firefight we're going to be in. Now let's hurry! The longer we wait, the harder Noble will hold against this MECH."_

_The three soon started to turn around and headed to the exit, making their way back to Carter and the others. John soon looked to Elsa and told her to get going._

_John Darby: "You heard him, Elsa. Let's kick some ass!"_

_Elsa turned to her and nodded in agreement._

_Elsa de Sica: "Yes sir!"_

_So the two followed the three and left the hanger, rejoining the others._

* * *

_Back outside, Noble was holding their own, trying to save themselves while MECH outnumbered them. But it didn't matter as they heave the armaments on their side. Carter and Kat used their weapons to spew some bullets left and right, causing the soldiers to scatter and hide. But that was a fruitless endeavor as Barrick used his grenade launcher to fire multiple grenades throughout the area. Those grenades exploded and caused some of them to fly out of cover. This soon led Paduk to use his sniper rifle and fired on those that were exposed. So far, they managed to take out of small batch of opponents, as the demolition expert was feeling giddy._

_Barrick: "Booya! That's it boys! Keep em' coming! The more of you, the more the explosions!"_

_Carter overheard him and told him to remain vigilant._

_Carter: "Keep your head in the game, Barrick. These people are no pushovers. And from what I heard in the reports, MECH are just as dangerous as the Decepticons."_

_Barrick heard that and shrugged it off._

_Barrick: "Pft… Please… Decepticons, MECH, there all the same thing. They all get beaten."_

_Paduk overheard that and mentioned to the demo expert that they haven't faced these guys yet._

_Paduk: "That's all well and good. However, we need to remind you that this is our first fight with MECH and you're already getting cocky over it."_

_Barrick turned to the sniper and wasn't buying it._

_Barrick: "C'mon Paduk. Don't tell me that you are now going by the books? We're Noble Team! We can take on all oppositions no matter how big or small. We sure as Hell survived the Jasper Invasion. We can definitely take them on."_

_By the time he said that, a green sports car came from behind and sped towards them. Drifting, it transformed into a MECHicon and aimed a blaster right at them. Two more cars arrived as well and transformed with him, with their weapons armed and ready. Kat saw this and warned everyone about it._

_Kat: "Hostiles! Hostiles are on our flanks."_

_Carter turned to see the three with the other two preoccupied with the front forces, seeing this has became a serious situation._

_Carter: "I could see that, Kat! You don't have to tell me!"_

_The two point their weapons and were about face them off head on. But before they could attack, something came by and aided their help. It was Elsa as she fired both her blasters right at the three in the air. Soaring around, she keeps them busy with her aerial moves and avoiding their own projectiles at her. The two saw this and were confused at first. But they decided to use that distraction as an advantage and pointed their weapons at the three. Pulling the triggers, they fired multiple bullets at them and sprayed them completely. The three felt that in their backs and turned around to see them, with fury in their visors. They soon aim their blasters back at them and were ready to take them out. But they got their optics off of one threat that attacked them first. Elsa saw this and took the opening, thrusting in to take them all out. With her lower metal pigtail braids, they extended and split apart, poised ready to strike. With a quick spin, her bladed hair extended and went on a warpath, flying past them and cutting them up in different directions. She soon landed on the ground with one knee and her head is down. The three stood there with their blasters still armed and were going to react to something. Almost immediately, they all broke apart in pieces and falls to the floor in a pile. Both of them saw it all go down and were surprised that this girl can take them down easily. Elsa looked up with her visor and mouth guard open and gave a smirk._

_Elsa de Sica: "Expecting someone else?"_

_The two looked to each other then look back at her as the second in command asked of their experience with kids._

_Kat: "Is it me, or are we a magnet for children?"_

_Carter looked on and was a little iffy about it._

_Carter: "We're a magnet for them. But this one is made of metal, weapons, and hair that would make a barber scream in fear."_

_Elsa stood up and crossed her arms with a smug grin._

_Elsa de Sica: "Well, that's some way in saying you're welcome. But I heard better, thank you."_

_Barrick and Paduk wasn't aware of what's going on until they turned for an assist._

_Barrick: "Sir, commander, we already have too many soldiers in our front. We going to need some extra help here!"_

_That's when they saw the girl and was even more confused._

_Barrick: "Hey! Who's the runt? And why's she's decked out in armor."_

_The two turned to their soldiers and decided to save the answer for another time._

_Carter: "My guess, one of the intruders we're going to rescue. Sort of made sense. Now where is the other one?"_

_Just then, a bunch of soldiers came to the side and trapped them, pointing their weapons to them._

_"Nowhere to run! Time for you all to die!"_

_They turned to see the MECH soldiers and pointed their weapons to them, ready for an all out firefight. But then, there were a spray of bullets from their backs and the back of their heads and were killed completely. There were a little confused as they saw more bullets taking out more soldiers in front of them. That's when they saw Thorne, Sofia, and John approaching to their position, firing their weapons right at the enemy. Once they joined them, Thorne approached Carter and told him that they took care of the rescue part._

_Thorne: "Sir! We rescued the captives."_

_Carter gave a sigh of relief and knew that the one part of the plan was successful._

_Carter: "That's good to hear. Now we just wait for our pick up to arrive."_

_He soon turned to John and asked if he and this girl is what they're looking for._

_Carter: "You're Jonathan Darby?"_

_John heard his name and nodded completely._

_John Darby: "Yes I am. And you are?"_

_Carter: "Commander Carter; leader of Noble Team. We came here to rescue you and your partner. Though by the looks of it, I can tell that you didn't need our help."_

_He soon turned to see the Elsa in her techno organic suit of armor and mentioned about her. John turned to his partner and smirked._

_John Darby: "Yeah? Well my girl is full of surprises."_

_By the time he said that, bullets flew around them as they got down and protect themselves from the onslaught._

_Carter: "Get down!"_

_They all immediately jumped down and got into cover behind the crates and turned over trucks. Once they got to safety, they got their weapons out and provided covering fire. At the same time, the Noble leader soon got on the comm. and contacted for pick up._

_Carter: "This is Carter! We got the captives! We need an extraction, ASAP!"_

_He heard a pilot on the other end as she was trying to hold her own._

**_"Roger that! I am on my way now! ETA 600 seconds!"_**

_Carter heard that and didn't like the odds. But it's at the earliest convenience and had to take the risk._

_Carter: "Copy that. Get here as soon as you can! We'll hold our ground as much as we could. Out."_

_The others heard the news weren't happy about it._

_Barrick: "600 Seconds?! You fucking kidding me?! That's enough to cook up some ramen and eat it up. How in the Hell are we going to last that long?"_

_Carter looked to him and told him that shut it._

_Carter: "Suck up, Barrick. If we wait, we wait. Until then, we hold the line until our pick up arrives. All right, Noble, time to lace up and kick some ass! Eyes sharp, weapons loaded! It's time for some serious spring cleaning!"_

_He soon turned to John and Elsa and wondered if they are ready to handle this as well._

_Carter: "Well? Are you two ready to help assist us? We could use all the manpower we currently have."_

_Both John and Elsa looked to Carter and then looked at each other. Thinking they have no choice, they decided to assist this group they just met._

_John Darby: "Well, we survive RF and Padania groups in Italy and Decepticons. I'm sure we can handle a firefight against MECH."_

_Hearing that, Carter gave a smirk and knew they have an extra set of hands with them._

_Carter: "Then there is still hope yet. All right Noble, Let's Raise HELL!"_

_They soon got their weapons ready and fired them at the soldiers and MECHicons. Elsa soon jumped up and flew high in the air, arming her blasters. She soon fired as projectiles came out of the ends and rain down on them. The group got out of the way and scattered completely. The rest soon focused their attention to the techno organic and fired away at her. She soon started to fly away and went all over the place, dodging all projectiles all over her. At the same time, she charged her blasters and took out the anti air defense cannons, making sure the drop ship lands safely without getting shot. This gave Noble a chance to attack. Barrick started to lob a lot of grenades all over the place and they exploded, sending people flying all over the place. The rest soon got out of cover and picked them off with their rifles and pistols. Thorne and Sofia used their rifles for suppressive fire as they took down the first few soldiers. Barrick soon threw a bunch of grenades and caused small explosions to cause some of the enemy to scatter. Emile soon rushed in to use his shotgun to fill the disoriented men with lead. The moment he ran out of ammo, he used his knife and threw it at one guard aiming him and hit him right in the head. He soon got bombarded with bullets and got his head down, running to grab the knife out of the skull. Elsa soon jumped down and to protect Emile, Putting her arms together to form an energy barrier to protect them. Emile reloaded his shotgun while Elsa got her blasters armed. They soon fired right at anything that's around them and killed a large enough group to clear them back to the group. But that was short lived as to metal legs came down and a shadow loomed over them. They both looked up and noticed that a MECHicon looking down to them, aiming his machine gun blaster to take them down. But before he could actually fire on them, a red dot appeared on his visor and the sound of a sniper shot came out of nowhere. That's when a stray bullet hit him in the visor and blinded him completely. He rummaged around, trying to find his footing while shooting blindly, taking out both men and bots in the process before tripping and falling into a hanger, smashing through it. Close by, Paduk reloaded his Markza and fired another shot, getting a headshot from a soldier at farther range. Then he reloaded another and fire on a few more for good measure. Not far from him, Carter, Kat, and John were doing some covering fire, taking out as many as possible. With the Darby, he got into cover and reloaded his pistol with a clip Carter just gave him. By the time he reloaded, he looked to the side and noticed something he never thought coming. At the runway, three people were heading into the air carrier. The first is Henry Master, a former employee of Sumdac Systms who is now a part of MECH's science division. The second one is Commander Rourke, one of MECH's muscle and the right hand man for the third person. And that third person is Leonard Church, also known as the Director. He is the head of MECH's science division and is the very person responsible for having John's wife and son getting turned into Cybertronian soldiers and leaving them permanent. And now he's making a break for it with the carrier's engines starting to warm up. Seeing this, he knew that he couldn't let them do that._

_John Darby: "Shit! They're getting away! We have to stop them!"_

_Carter soon turned to him and told him to hold his position._

_Carter: "Hold on, Darby! Our objective isn't taking out MECH. Our mission is to get your and your partner out of here! We can't abandon the mission!"_

_John turned to him and told him the reason._

_John Darby: "To Hell with your mission! That man there, that's Leonard Church! That's the bastard who took my family and turned them into his twisted science project! He has to pay for what he's done!"_

_Carter heard that and knew what he wants. Straight up revenge._

_Carter: "I get your reason, but he's not the target. Our concern is to keep you guys alive until our evac arrives. So hold your position until our ride comes!"_

_John listened in and couldn't loose the Director. Looking back at him going to enter the carrier, he was getting cocky and decided to risk it._

_John Darby: "Oh slag it…"_

_Loading his pistol up, he ran out of cover and headed straight to the carrier. Carter saw this and tires to stop him._

_Carter: "John! What are you doing?! Get back here, this instant!"_

_He didn't listen as he kept on running towards the carrier, not caring for the firefight around him. Kat saw this too and didn't like it at all._

_Kat: "God damn it! That bastard is going to get himself killed!"_

_Carter got the message and told everyone to stop him._

_Carter: "Noble, Jonathan Darby has gone a-wall. Stop him before he hurts himself!"_

_Sofia and Thorne heard him and turned to see the Darby heading towards them. Quickly, they both got to him and got a hold of him, trying to hold him down. Barrick and Paduk soon saw this and tried to help them as well, rushing to bring him down. John struggled to get out of this predicament and demanded that he is to be let go._

_John Darby: "Hey! What gives?! Let go of me! He's making an escape!"_

_Elsa noticed her handler going crazy again and realized that he's loosing it. Quickly, she and Emile got to him and told him to stop._

_Elsa de Sica: "Stop, John! It's already too late! It's not worth the risk! There will be another time you get your chance. But until then, let it go."_

_John looked to her and was about to snap. But seeing her cool demeanor, he knew that it was a loosing battle, for now. Lowering his head down, he felt completely defeated. But then, he looked up and had a vicious glare at the one bastard that took his family from him. He continued to watch as the Director looked right at him before entering the carrier with the other two. John starred on and finally relaxed for once. Once he was done, the group let him go and he slumped on his knees, knowing that he failed. Carter soon approached him and sighed about the situation._

_Carter: "You know, it's not easy getting revenge. It can turn you into something you truly hate. I learn that from experience. Sometimes, you need to expect that you can't fight those demons without turning into one. I'm sure you can get your shot. But for now, it's time to keep your head in the game."_

_He soon outreaches his hand, wanting the Darby to take it. John looked up at the hand and decided to accept what he said. Taking the hand, Carter got him up and things have calmed down for a bit. But that moment is cut short as Emile realized that they're not in the woods yet._

_Emile: "Hey guys? Hate to break up this moment, but we still have a problem here."_

_They all heard him and looked to see what he's seeing. What they saw is three MECHicon in front of them aiming their machine gun blasters at them. Combine that with the MECH soldiers surrounding them and they got a battle they cannot get out of. They all got their weapons ready and were expecting a dangerous and deadly firefight._

_Kat: "Well this is bad."_

_Carter looked at this and thought it wasn't bad._

_Carter: "Well, we've been through worse."_

_Barrick though decided to let him know of this situation._

_Barrick: "Oh, trust us, this is worse."_

_John soon got his pistol out and was ready for a fight._

_John Darby: "Well, if we are to die, at least we die fighting."_

_Elsa turned to him and wasn't going to die over this._

_Elsa de Sica: "You're not going to die, sir. Not while I'm around."_

_Getting ready, they were about to go in for a fight. But just as they were going to attack, three missiles came in out of the blue and hit the MECHicons in the chest, taking them down and terminating them completely. Noble Team saw this and wondered what just happened. That's when the drop ship came in through the sky and flew over them. That was when the group realized that they have been rescued as the ship turned right around and went on the attack. With the machine gun turrets armed, it spewed bullets and killed a bunch of men, causing many more to scatter and clear the landing. Once they were away, the ship slowly started to land and the pilot responded through the comms._

**_"Saw the fight you have there. Thought I give you a little support."_**

_Carter approached the ship and thanked the pilot._

_Carter: "Thanks for the assist! Thought you didn't return."_

_The pilot laughed on the comm. and was amused by that remark._

**_"Please… Like I would abandon Noble Team. I'm opening up the back ramp for you guys."_**

_The ramp slowly started to lower, giving them a chance to enter. As it completely lowered, the MECH soldiers came back and started to fire, making sure Noble won't escape. They all quickly ducked down and avoided the shots, providing covering fire. Carter soon told everyone to get into their ride._

_Carter: "Everyone, get on board! We're leaving!"_

_Soon enough, they all ran right to the drop ship while they were firing at the MECH soldiers. As they were running, John was behind and using his pistols to pick them off. But again, his knee gave away and he tripped and fall. Elsa heard that and turned around to see John down for the count again. She soon approached him and checked on him._

_Elsa de Sica: "John!"_

_He looked up and told her of what just happened._

_John Darby: "It happened again… Damn knee!"_

_Elsa though decided to help him up and get him into the ship._

_Elsa de Sica: "Hang on! I'm going to get you out of here!"_

_She got him up and tried to take him into the ship. Thorne noticed it too and decided to help them out._

_Thorne: "Here, let me help! Sofia! Emile! Back me up!"_

_He rushed in to help Elsa carry John up as Sofia and Emile protected them by shooting their guns at the opposition. Elsa and Throne managed to get John into the ship as they fired their weapons right at anything that is close to them. Once they were inside, Carter approached the pilot and told her to leave._

_Carter: "All right, everyone's in! Take off right now!"_

_The pilot heard him and warmed up the engines._

_"Copy that. Just like me do a quick system check and…"_

_But as she was starting the check, they heard the sound of something crashing not far. Barrick heard that and was confused about it._

_Barrick: "Uh… What's that noise?"_

_The others soon heard it and wondered about it as well. John slowly limped his way to the front and looked around to see where it came from. That's when he looked up and notices something falling towards the base._

_John Darby: "Uh… I think I found the answer."_

_The Noble leader heard him and turned to see what he's looking at. That's when he saw some futuristic convoy with a lot of cars all detach and heading right towards them. Seeing this, he immediately told the pilot to take off._

_Carter: "Skip the check and take off! NOW!"_

_The pilot noticed that as well and decided to follow his advice._

_"You don't have to tell me twice! Everybody hang on!"_

_Pretty soon, the engines were in full throttle and ship started to take off. Taking a curve, it flew away from the base as the MECH soldiers and MECHicons continued to fire. At the same time, all those cars soon crashed into the base and left behind a wreck, as contents were spilled all over the floor. Those contents include a bunch of Cybertronian detonators and glowing red cubes of some kind. Those were in fact Red Energon as they were suppose to be a new fuel source that would grant anyone a limited amount of speed. But this stuff was volatile and would explode if they were ever hit. And with the convoy crashed and everything tumbling, there was no doubt that any survivors in the wreck won't last very long. Just then, the cubes started to glow brighter and were reaching critical mass. Almost immediately, the red energon exploded along with the charges, creating a huge explosion within the base and taking out everything in its path. The drop ship managed to escape and was encountered with minor turbulence from the blast. The group hangs on for dear life as the ship nearly lost it. Thankfully, the pilot managed to recover from the blast and flew away, escaping the blast radius as it expanded into a huge crater with nothing surviving. Everyone took a breather as Carter turned to the others to go check on them._

_Carter: "Everyone all right?"_

_The group took a breather, as Paduk was the one to respond._

_Paduk: "Yeah… Never better. Though I feel one of our boys need a barf bag by now."_

_Sofia felt a little queasy as she was trying to hold it._

_Sofia: "Don't blame me… I'm just starting off with this group. I wasn't expecting a near death experience in mid air…"_

_She soon covered her mouth as she was expecting to vomit. Thorne looked to her and told her that he went through the same problems._

_Thorne: "Welcome to Noble Team. Trust me. You'll get use to it."_

_Elsa soon approached John and checked on him as well._

_Elsa de Sica: "John? You okay?"_

_John shrugged it off and told her that he was all right._

_John Darby: "Despite the damaged knee and a slight case of nausea, I think I'll manage. Though I wish I got my revenge back there, at least I will meet with him soon enough."_

_Elsa figured that was the case and assured him that there will be a time for that._

_Elsa de Sica: "I'm sure you will handle the Director. But for now, let's be glad that we managed to escape with the Intel for Fowler on what MECH is planning."_

_John heard that and sighed, knowing that accomplish something._

_John Darby: "Yeah… I guess you're right. You got the flash drive and photos containing the evidence right?"_

_Elsa nodded and changed back to her normal attire, digging into her pockets to show both drives containing both the Intel and photos._

_Elsa de Sica: "Got them both on me. I'm sure this will be enough for Fowler to see."_

_John smiled and felt good about the assignment, with the exception of how it went down south._

_John Darby: "Good… At least we got one thing out of it."_

_As they were talking, Kat approached Carter and demanded what happened down there._

_Kat: "Sir! Any idea on what just happened. Where did that strange convoy came from and why did it contain highly explosive materials?"_

_Carter thought of that and didn't have a clue._

_Carter: "I really wish I knew. But it was fortunate that came and destroy the base, otherwise, we cannot escape MECH with what they have. Kind of wondering how that happened though."_

_Just then, the pilot came in and told them that they have company._

_"Heads up, Noble! Unknown flyer on my review. Not MECH and definitely not ours."_

_They all heard that as Carter turned to the front mirror to see some type of ship close by. A ship that looks very familiar in John's and Elsa's eyes._

_Elsa de Sica: "John… Is that…?"_

_John looked on and knew where she was going._

_John Darby: "Yes, it is? Get on the comm. on that ship. I think the frequency should match it. I'll help you through it."_

_He approached the pilot's console and helps her arrange the frequency. Once they got the frequency in place, John soon contacted the Jackhammer to see if someone is there._

_John Darby: "Come in Jackhammer. This is Jonathan Darby. Can anyone ready me?"_

_He waited for a response, hoping that someone will call. It was then he heard a voice of a familiar son._

_Jack/Rodimus Prime: **"Dad…? Is that you?"**_

_John laughed a little and never thought that he would hear his son on his end._

_John Darby: "Hey there, Jackie Boy. So glad to hear your voice. I take that huge convoy that derailed and blew up the Airforce base belonged to you, huh?"_

_With a bit of hesitation, the cybertronian Darby responded back._

_Jack/Rodimus Prime: **"It's complicated. I'll explain it to you when we get back to base. What about you? What were you doing out in the middle of nowhere?"**_

_John sighed too and decided to do that same._

_John Darby: "Long story… I'll brief it to you when we get back."_

_End Flashback..._

* * *

**And so that ends the second part of Noble Grilling. Now I know this was suppose to be a quick one with most of the stuff I have to copy and past. Unfortunately, with the busy schedule I had, it took a lot longer then I expected. Even more so when Word closed unexpectedly and half the chapter was lost with it when I didn't save. Still, what's done is done and now I'm being careful on my progress. Hopefully, it won't be doing that again. It was frustrating recovering that much in a few days. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that and if you want to see more of this, you better look into Double Trouble to see about how the Jackhammer and Convoy got there. And stay tune for the final part where Carter and Noble will get the verdict of their actions. Please Review. #WherearetheGoodCartoons?**


	3. The Verdict

**So this is the finally of the three parter of the Double Trouble Extra, Noble Grilling. I must say, this wasn't the hardest story I did, but it was challenging. Sure it's easy to manage as I copy and paste certain parts of the original Double Trouble story. But when all that you've worked for was long gone due to the Word program closing unexpectedly and not auto saving all of my work, you know that all that you've accomplished ultimately cost you time and effort. Thankfully, I managed to recover from that and could see the story's looking so good now. I mean I got no reviews and 61 hits since the last chapter, though I was expecting more out of it. But it's a retread of the real story, so I can't complain. I just hope that this last chapter and the story as a whole gets popular. Anyways, let's proceed to this final chapter and be done with it.**

**In this chapter, the time has come for the verdict as Noble Leader Carter a waits for his and his team's punishment. What will become of Noble Team? Will they be able to escape's the captain's wrath. Let us see what's in store for them.**

**Chapter Notes**

**Now the beginning will be copy and pasted on the last chapter of 'Double Trouble'. However the rest will focus on this chapter mostly. At least this time you don't have to worry about a lot of Italics for flashbacks. And I know that people don't like that much in the past two chapters. This will be a sigh of relief.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime or any video game franchise**

* * *

Chapter Three: The Verdict

_Flashback…_

_After that rescue mission that almost went down south, Noble Team headed to the Autobot Base in Lake Eerie, where they have to rest from nearly getting killed. Course, they have to explain to Lasky about this mess, but they'll wait until the time comes. Now, they just need a briefing from Fowler and the Autobots. From what they were able to piece together, Team Prime was on a mission of their own as they were suppose to stop a Decepticon convoy filled with Red Energon from traveling towards Darkmount and be used as fuel to conquer the world quicker. They managed to stop it, but failed to contain it. That in turn lead them to escape the train that was already damaged and the breaks were gone. They were able to escape it, but the convoy jumped off the cliff and landed into the decommissioned Clinton-Sherman Air force base that was under MECH's control. That in turn lead to the place exploding and destroying everything, and Noble was close to the blast. Thankfully, they managed to escape, but barely, and they and the Jackhammer flew back to the base. Course, the news media picked it up as Attinger and Godfree blames the Autobots for this, which in turn leads to that future emergency summit at the UN to figure out what to do with the team. All of which was annoying. As they were resting, Arcee, the team's second in command and cyber ninja, spoke to John's son, Jack, who is also Rodimus Prime, about his father's conditions._

_Arcee: "So… How's your dad holding up?"_

_Rodimus heard that and knew she wanted to change the subject. Sighing, he explained to her of what he gathered._

_Jack/Rodimus Prime: "Well… He's still standing, somewhat. Just can't believe that he was on a reconnaissance mission to infiltrate MECH and gather Intel from them. Never thought that he would get right into the action with the fact that his knee is badly damaged. Let alone discovering whom the Director is and wanted revenge for what happened to mom and me. I never thought that the very person that turned the both of us into Autobots is the same person he rescued many years ago."_

_They both turned to see John and Elsa at the lounge with Noble, Sari, and Vince behind them and June standing over them, hearing all the details. The two-wheeler sighed and figured that was the case._

_Arcee: "Can you really blame him? He found out that the person he saved a long time ago is the same one that changed both you and your mother's lives forever. Now he's out for vengeance and there's no stopping him. He's kind of like me, you know. Back when I was obsessed with Airachnid when she took Tailgate."_

_Jack heard that and knew how revenge can make someone do crazy things._

_Jack/Rodimus Prime: "How could I forget? You are crazy for vengeance against her. At least you had some restraint against such killing instincts. My dad? I don't know how far he goes with this. I don't want him to go crazy like when I lost my uncle."_

_Arcee heard that and nodded, knowing that it was the situation._

_Arcee: "It seems that way. Vengeance over something so trivial is what drives you. And you have to face your demons in some way. I just hope his demons won't cause him to succumb in hate and anger, like what mine almost did."_

_As they were looking one, John was with his wife, explaining to her and he experienced._

_John Darby: "So that's why I have to do this. If I don't stop the Director, then I can't move on with him responsible for what he did with the both of you."_

_Altra heard it all and turned her head away. She never imagined that her husband would face the Director. Nor did she realize that the person that turned her and her son into Cybertronians is the same one that John had rescued a long time ago. With a deep sigh, she looked back and felt sorry for what happened._

_June/Altra: "Oh John, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that the bastard that changed our lives is the same one that you saved. I should've known…"_

_John sighed and told her that it was all right._

_John Darby: "Hey… Don't be… None of us didn't know that the Church I saved is the same one that changed both of you. I for one never thought that he was the one responsible for all of this. I just can't believe that son of a bitch would do all this because he lost his wife in enemy territory. That is so messed up if you ask me."_

_June heard that and reminded him of what he did._

_June/Altra: "Yeah? Well not as messed up as taking him on yourself. What were you thinking wanting to fight him? Do you know that you have a bad knee the whole time? You're lucky enough that you're still standing after pulling a risky move such as that. Can you actually imagine what would happen if you die? What will become of me and Jack? I don't want to loose you, the way you lost your brother."_

_John heard her concerns and could agree with what she said. Yes, it was a risk. Yes, it was stupid. Yes, it almost cost him his life. But he had to do it to avenge his family. Taking a deep breath, he decided to admit that it was dumb of him to pull something that dangerous._

_John Darby: "You're right. It was stupid of me in going in there and taking him out. But I had a reason behind it, and it's because of you two."_

_The nurse looked to his husband and was a little confused._

_June/Altra: "What?"_

_He gave it some thought and explained to her why he did what he had to do._

_John Darby: "Ever since you and Jack told me of what happened, my only thought is to get the bastard responsible for your condition. Never in my life I would have thought that very person who caused this is the same guy that I saved a long time ago. I promised myself that I will avenge the both of you, and my promise almost got me killed. I never thought that I would endanger both myself and Elsa just because of one guy. I should be ashamed of myself."_

_June heard his explanation and get why he had to risk his life. The fact that it's all centered around one person changing everything really got him good. She felt complete sympathy, as she understood what he had to go through. But there's one more person that felt sorry for John, and that's Elsa. She heard the argument between the two and knew that John had to do it for his family. But not in giving up his life for them. Thinking about it, she decided to speak on her own behalf as to why he shouldn't beat himself up over this._

_Elsa de Sica: "That's not true."_

_Both Darby's turned to Elsa and wondered what she was talking about._

_Elsa de Sica: "You shouldn't be ashamed. You did what you have to do. You defended your family's honor. That is what people like you do. Was it both risky and dangerous? Yes. Was it foolish? Most definitely. But you did it just so you have some closure. Sure, you never got a shot at it. But I know that soon, you will succeed. Just don't push yourself too hard all right."_

_John heard his partner's words of wisdom and knew what she was referring to. The first time was one big mess up. But with a bit more preparation and training, maybe he might be able to accomplish in what he just failed to do. With that, John bent down to her and patted her on the head._

_John Darby: "Thanks, Elsa. At least I have an anchor on my life, and a bodyguard to boot. I'm glad to have someone like you on this team and family."_

_Elsa chuckled and assured him that she always got his back._

_Elsa de Sica: "Hey, I'm stuck with you. Been with you since our SWA days, will always be until the very end. Though I think you need more muscle then experience."_

_She pointed back with her thumb as John looked ahead. That's when he saw Noble Team talking to Vince with Sari and Sam next to him. Seeing them, he smirked and was pleased that they came to the rescue._

_John Darby: "Yeah… Surprised that they come to our aid. If they didn't show up, we wouldn't stand a chance. Excuse me."_

_He soon walked past Elsa as he headed to the team and thank them. Altra and Elsa watched on and could tell that he is something._

_Elsa de Sica: "John… He's always so determined to accomplish what needs to be done."_

_June chuckled and knew what he's going through._

_June/Altra: "That's my John. He's always determined to succeed with something, no matter what."_

_John soon approached the group and decided to speak to them._

_John Darby: "So, uh… I would like to thank you all for saving us. I don't know what would happen if you didn't come to our aid."_

_Noble turned around as Carter approached him and told him that it wasn't their call._

_Carter: "No need to thank us. We were just doing out job. Besides, you should be thanking Vince for the save. He was the one who called on us about you and your partner. You two would've been done for if it wasn't for him."_

_John heard it and was surprised Vince knew about them. He soon approached the former bully and asked him about that._

_John Darby: "Vince… Never in my life have I thought that I you made friends with these guys. Let alone have friends who are part of the military. How did this happen?"_

_Vince heard him and rubbed the back of his head, knowing that he wanted an answer. With a chuckle, he explained it in a brief detail._

_Vince: "Yeah… It's a long story. What you should know that they found and save me while I was separated from my parents. Stayed with them during the Jasper invasion and helped them during the last stand. They made me an honorary member after that Hell. All and all, I made some great allies and they gave me their number incase something bad happens. When you left for that infiltration mission and haven't returned, I had to make the call."_

_Barrick turned to him and rubbed his head._

_Barrick: "And you did good, kid. You're Intel was accurate and now we got a new threat besides these Decepticons. More bodies to pile on, I say."_

_Carter soon turned to Barrick and reminded him of what they had to go through._

_Carter: "Yeah? Well we didn't get permission of Commander Lasky and commandeer a drop ship just to get to MECH's base. I could imagine that we'll be court marshaled when we get back._

_Barrick turned to him and reminded him that it was all worth it._

_Barrick: "Hey, be glad that we did something good for a change. At least feel accomplished."_

_Carter: "Especially after disobeying direct orders. There's going to be an earful._

_John listened to them and sighed with his eyes rolling around. He soon turned to Vince and thanked him for the help._

_John Darby: "Thanks, Vince. Guess you're going to be a great soldier when you grow up, huh?"_

_Vince shrugged his shoulders and was hesitant about that one._

_Vince: "Er… Maybe… One day, I suppose. Until then, I'm just a high school student protecting the weak. It's what I can do for now."_

_John heard that and smirked a little._

_John Darby: "I knew you would. You're family might be proud of you."_

_Vince heard that and knew he was telling the truth. Ever since his family died during the invasion, he had sworn to no longer bully anyone anymore. Only use it to protect those that are weak, such as Sari and Sam. So he tries to hide the tear and agreed with him._

_Vince: "Oh, I know they are proud. I'm sure of it."_

_The group soon relaxed, knowing that the worse has come to pass. Sadly that was short lived as a familiar beeping sound came from one of the screens. Soon enough, a window popped up and Fowler's face was shown on it, all bright red in anger._

_Agent Fowler: **"Prime!"**_

_They all heard Fowler, as Optimus turn to the screen and approached it, talking away._

_Optimus Prime: "Agent Fowler? To what purpose that you wish to speak to us?"_

_That's when Fowler explained to him what happened in his usual expression._

_Agent Fowler: **"What do you think? Have you seen the news? The MECH controlled base was destroyed by a huge explosion and all evidence is pointing to you and your team! Attinger is using this a means to campaign on forcing all of you off world and the Pentagon has been calling me for answers I don't know much about. So, care to explain to me why there was a red nuclear explosion?"**_

_Optimus and his team looked at each other and figured this is why he called them. So the leader explained everything in detail._

_Optimus Prime: "Very well, Agent Fowler. We will explain…"_

* * *

_A few minutes later, Prime explained everything in detail, from the mission, to the setbacks, the fights, and the escape. Once he explained everything of what happened, Fowler started to summarize it all._

_Agent Fowler: **"So, let me get this straight. You and your team went out to contain this Red Energon from the Decepticons for fear that they would use it for their mission of global domination. You managed to get a hold of that energon, but in the end, the Cons sabotage the convoy the energon was on and derailed. That in turn lead to the convoy to crash into that MECH facility and blew up soon after, taking out any surviving MECH soldiers that are within the area, and almost took out John and Elsa as well."**_

_Optimus heard these thoughts and got it all right._

_Optimus Prime: "That is the gist of it. The mission was choppy at best. However, me and my team managed to prevent Decepticons from gaining an advantage and all the Red Energon have been disposed of."_

_Fowler rubbed his chin and believes that it was the best they got._

_Agent Fowler: **"I see… Well, this might not convince the Pentagon that what happened was just a mission that went south; at least we have a clear idea that you did this to prevent the Cons from destroying the world. Though I wish I was informed of this first hand. Would've made things easier."**_

_John overheard that and approached the screen, explaining to Fowler of what happened before hand._

_John Darby: "For the record, Agent Fowler, you called this base right after the Autobots left to secure the Red Energon. You wanted to speak to them and take part of the mission you had, but they are already heading to their mission. I had to be the one handling the mission for you. Remember?"_

_Fowler heard that and remembered what happened._

_Agent Fowler: **"Oh, I remember. I also remember you reluctantly agreeing on this assignment when the Autobots were away. Something about you wanting to make things personal after what happened to your family."**_

_John turned away and remembered that, along with something even more disturbing._

_John Darby: "I did… I took part in the mission while the Autobots left to stop the Cons. I was also successful on the mission with my partner here. But that mission sheds some light on the Director, and his identity."_

_There was some silence as the group wondered what he's thinking about. Fowler as well as he wanted to know what is going on._

_Agent Fowler: **"What are you saying, Darby?"**_

_John was thinking of what to say until he came up with one, turning to Fowler to explain._

_John Darby: "The Director… The head of MECH's Science Division… The person responsible for turning my wife and son into robots… His name is Leonard Church, once the chairman of Church Enterprise. And… And I saved him before."_

_Everyone was stone quiet and was surprised by that response._

_John Darby: "Back in Iraq, a long time ago, my brother and I were with the strike force to rescue a PoI that was held captive by a terror cell. We came in to rescue him, but we weren't informed of whom the person is. Kevin and I soon discovered that it was Church and got him out. But never in my wildest dream would be the same one that destroyed my family, both physically and mentally."_

_He turned to screen Fowler was on and demanded something._

_John Darby: "Tell me, Fowler. Did you know that Church is the Director of MECH's science division? Did you know that he's the Director now?"_

_Fowler was quiet and answered truthfully._

_Agent Fowler: **"Yes, I did. But that was when the Autobots informed me of him after they rescued your wife, son, and his friends. I did some research on this guy and made the discovery that he's Church and the history behind him was surprising at best. I could never imagine someone with the knowledge of weaponry can join someone as cruel as MECH. Though it was obvious that he joined them due to giving terrorists weapons to kill Americans."**_

_John heard that and knew why he did that._

_John Darby: "And I think I know why he would do that. It's because of his own wife."_

_Fowler heard him and got the idea._

_Agent Fowler: **"Most likely the case. Allison Church died on duty back in Iraq. It's no doubt that Church turned on us because of it. For what reason, I really don't know."**_

_That's when the Darby told the former Army Ranger the truth._

_John Darby: "Oh, I think I know. Because I was there."_

_The group looked to him and wondered what he was saying. That's when he told them all they should know._

_John Darby: "Back in the mission, we were able to rescue Church, but there was another prisoner within the same facility across the hall. Now our mission was to rescue the PoI and leave before the bombardments, but Church wanted us to free that prisoner. He got so crazy that we had to subdue him and take him to the EVAC point. Thankfully, we made an escape and the bombardments took out the Terror Cell. But that left the prisoner to die in there as well. Since then, I always wondered who that prisoner was and why Church wanted to free her. But when I was caught on this mission, he told me that the prisoner…was his wife."_

_An eerie silence fell upon the room as the group was surprised by that news. John soon turned to Fowler and asked about it._

_John Darby: "As it turns out, both of them were captured and taken to the base, but Kevin and I had to rescue Church and not his wife. Did you know about any of it, Fowler? Did you?!"_

_Will heard that and was just as surprised as everyone else. Turning away, he explained about it truthfully._

_Agent Fowler: **"To be fair, I had no idea. The Pentagon always keeps information like this on the DL, so I never knew Church's wife was captured along with him. If it were the case, there would've been a chance in saving her as well."**_

_John Darby: "Yeah… Well whoever was in charge of the operation should've known better. If any of us knew that Allison was there, we would've rescued her too. Sadly, that didn't happen and now he blames the military for it since."_

_Fowler thought this through and decided to speak to his higher ups about it._

_Agent Fowler: **"I'll go on ahead to speak to Lasky of this situation. Preferably shed some light into this news you discovered. Besides, someone else has to return to Unit E to apologize on leaving their post without proper authorization."**_

_Carter and the rest of Noble heard him and knew what he meant. They sort of left the base without permission after what Vince told them what happened. Because of that, they sort of jeopardize the team, even if everyone was safe. Now they have to pay the price for disrespecting orders. Carter soon approached John and talked to Fowler of what happened._

_Carter: "Agent Fowler, I get that Lasky is pissed off about us leaving the unit, but Vince was the one who called and told us that Darby was in trouble. We had no option then to follow our guts and leave to rescue him. If anyone is to blame on what happened, it would be our honorary member."_

_That's when Vince came in and told Fowler the whole truth._

_Vince: "It's true, Fowler, I was the one who called them for help. I should be held responsible for the risk of Noble Team."_

_Fowler heard that and decided to let it slide._

_Agent Fowler: **"I respect your thoughts, Vince. But you are just a minor in high school. Lasky cannot take the blame on a kid when the rest of Noble was the ones who left their posts. Still, I don't think that the lieutenant will court-martial you over such tedious things. Hopefully the punishment isn't too severe."**_

_Carter heard that and was a little relieved, though he is concerned of what punishment he's mentioning. So he shrugged it off and got the message._

_Carter: "Understood, sir. Let Lasky know what we'll be back as soon as possible."_

_Fowler nodded and decided to get down to business._

_Agent Fowler: **"I will."**_

_End Flashback…_

* * *

General Bryce: "And look where it got us now."

Back in the present times, Fowler and Carter were sitting with their heads down, finishing their story of how everything went down on this rouge mission. And with Lasky and Palmer there, they weren't happy about the actions of what they have done. Bryce and writing the report down on his desk as the soldier was recording the whole grill on the side. Once he was done writing it, he looked to Carter and was very upset about this.

General Bryce: "You disgust me…"

Carter heard that and turned away, knowing that he screwed up completely. The general soon continued on with the Noble leader's actions.

General Bryce: "You disobeyed a direct order of your superior officer, almost got your team killed, and interfered in another mission where Agent Fowler assigned someone else. And all this is because of some punk kid that is concerned for a friend's father. I must say for a leader of the group that survived the Jasper Invasion, you have certainly gone a wall on this one."

Carter sighed and turned to him, giving him an honest answer.

Carter: "With all due respect, sir. We were doing what we thought was best, to protect those in need. And Darby and Elsa were the two that needed protecting. If you didn't know, they were completely overwhelmed and we had to make a decision in judgment."

The general heard that and wasn't pleased with his decision.

General Bryce: "And is with that decision that nearly cost you, dearly. And Fowler, that mission you assigned to John and suppose to be in and out, nothing too serious. Then things went down south when he decided to take out their science officer. Did you expect any of that to happen?"

Fowler heard his name and turned to the general and answered with honesty.

Agent Fowler: "No, I have not. Orders were to gather Intel from MECH to see what they are planning. I didn't expect him staying there to tie up some loose ends let alone have a grudge with someone he knew back in that operation many years ago. Then again, I wasn't expecting Noble Team to come in and rescue him and his partner. But at least I was thankful that they came. Otherwise, what happened with all that red energon exploding and destroying everything, we would've lost some good soldiers."

Lasky has heard enough and got up to approach the agent.

Captain Lasky: "Fowler, you should know that that we are all here is because of the blunders both you and Carter did. Yes, we are grateful that we didn't loose anyone from our side, but we wouldn't be in this predicament if the Noble Leader here followed orders and your undercover agent didn't went rouge over personal issues. If you didn't keep your guy in line, we wouldn't be in this situation."

The agent looked up to the captain and assured him that he was following protocol.

Agent Fowler: "And you should know captain that John was suppose to be in radio silence during the mission. He was pretty much following orders before this mess started. You on the other hand should've kept your men in line as well, or better yet, let them do this rescue mission to save one of our own so we don't have another insubordination."

Captain Lasky: "I beg your pardon? Our main objective is to station our armaments and men around the barrier that the Decepticons have reside in. If they decided to lower the shield to attack the country, we need to be ready for an assault."

Fowler decided to get up and explained to him of what he know from Team Prime.

Agent Fowler: "And maybe you should know that Team Prime, upon rescuing Optimus, have discovered that the Cons have multiple space bridges within their fortress that can take them anywhere in the world. Which means that even if they do plan to attack, will use them to spread that assault all over the globe. Bet you didn't think that through, did ya?"

General could hear their complaints and decided to stop this yet again.

General Bryce: "That's enough you two! We're here to focus on the punishment of Noble, not pointing fingers on each other's competence. Now sit down!"

The two turned to the general and understand the reason of their presence, sitting back down and waiting for the general to make a decision. Bryce soon turned to Carter and decided to end it all before things start to get rough.

General Bryce: "Noble Carter, please step in."

Hearing that, Carter sighed and knew that this is punishment time. Slowly standing up, he walked in front of the desk and stood at attention. That's when the general started to make a few conclusions.

General Bryce: "Well, Carter. It would seem as though we're in a bit of a pickle. While you and your team believed that saving lives of a few seem like an honorable thing, that decision nearly cost you your lives near the end. Plus you disobeyed direct orders of your superior to follow on of a civilian. If it were up to me, I would've disband your unit and would send you to jail for insubordination."

Carter heard that and knew that would be a close enough punishment. But Bryce decided to give him the spotlight for his actions.

General Bryce: "However, giving I'm a fair man, I would want to hear your final thoughts and maybe what you say will lessen your punishment. So please… The floor is yours."

The Noble Leader was surprised that Bryce want him to have a final say. But considering the situation, it's the only way in pleading his case. Stepping forward, he decided to explain his actions the best way he could.

Carter: "General, I can understand that you and Lasky are upset about Noble's actions, and you have every right to be. However, it was my decision in staging this rescue and disobeying the captain's orders, not the team. So as far as punishments go, if you want, you can punish me. The team… Noble… They don't deserve to be punished. All the blame should be on me, not them."

The general heard his final thoughts and decided to take it up on his offer.

General Bryce: "Hmm… That seems fair enough."

He was just about to begin his punishment until Carter interrupts him.

Carter: "There is one more thing I need to state before you punish me, sir."

The general groaned and didn't think there will be more. Rolling his eyes around, he decided to listen to him some more.

General Bryce: "Fine… What is it? And don't you dare bring Prime like what Fowler did. That was completely uncalled for last time."

Carter was confused by that statement but continued on.

Carter: "Very well… Now while our main focus on the Decepticons and what they're planning for the world is our top priority, we have bigger concerns in our mist. During the rescue mission I am held responsible for, we encounter a threat that is as, or greater of a threat. MECH does possess the firepower and know-how for a global takeover, but they also have these mock up Cybertronians that can cause serious problems with our forces. Even now, they are planning to build a ground bridge that can take them anywhere, which will make their course of attack hard to predict. So even if I disregarded the captain's orders, at least we discovered that MECH pose a threat to not only the US, but also the world. So, at least we accomplished something out of this rescue mission."

Bryce listened in and was curious about MECH more then that of the punishment. He soon turned to Fowler and asked of this.

General Bryce: "Is it true, Fowler? Is MECH is a dangerous threat as the Decepticons?"

Fowler overheard him and nodded in agreement.

Agent Fowler: "That part is true General. While John's assignment had a few minor hiccups, at least he and his partner were successful in gathering Intel. And judging from what they obtained, it wasn't going to be good. It is bad enough that MECH now have mock up Decepticons they created. It is far worse that they are building a ground bridge to help them transport to places that will make it difficult for us to stop them. And giving my experience, with them, it's no doubt that they are planning to be more threatening than the Decepticons."

Lasky overheard him and decided to focus on the punishment.

Captain Lasky: "While all that is fine and dandy, this isn't what we're here for. It's for Noble's punishment and what will happen to them."

Bryce nodded and decided to skip to the punishment.

General Bryce: "Indeed. This is about Noble's punishment. However, after hearing from what Carter and Fowler said, I decided to make a decision for myself."

So he went back to Carter and decided to start the punishment.

General Bryce: "Now, Carter, I respect that you discovered how a greater threat is MECH, but it's still unforgiving that you disobeyed Lasky's orders. So after much thought of it, I found a fitting punishment for you."

Carter took a deep breath and waited for the punishment. And he hoped that nothing is too serious, otherwise it would be the end of Noble.

* * *

A few hours later, Noble was in the barracks and waited for their leader to return. But already, he's taking his time and the group was worried about it. Thorne was pacing back and forth while Sofia was sitting with her legs bobbing a little. The others looked at the two and were concerned for them.

Barrick: "Hey! Is it me, or are those two a little fidgety?"

Emile noticed it to and explained to the demo expert about their behavior.

Emile: "Can you blame them? They've been like this ever since Carter left for the grilling. They are worried of what's going to happen to us, since they are rookies and all."

Barrick rolled his eyes around and figured that was the case.

Barrick: "Hmph… Typical… With those two rookies, I can't blame them. One of them just joined us and I don't think she will be back to the SWAT brigade in Vegas. She still has some unfinished business with what the Cons did to her unit. Those two need to calm down if they have to wait. Guys got any ideas?"

Paduk soon thought about it and got an idea.

Paduk: "In Russia, vodka makes people feel better when they get nervous. Perhaps a few shots will help them ease the nerves."

Kat turned to him and gave a bit of a glare.

Kat: "Really, Paduk? Vodka? You want them to drink up into a coma."

Paduk heard her and sighed with a joke.

Paduk: "Okay… Whisky then."

Kat though groaned and decided to do something about this.

Kat: "You guys are hopeless. I'll talk to them."

She soon walked ahead to speak to the rookies. The men though turned to Paduk and as the sniper expert looked at them feeling a little confused.

Paduk: "What? What did I say?"

Kat got to the two and decided to talk to them of their impatience.

Kat: "You two need to relax. You are acting like you lost your privileges in rifle shooting."

The two stopped what they're doing and looked to her, knowing that they are about to loose more then that.

Thorne: "You're right, commander. We are about to loose something, our jobs! We followed Carter's orders while disregarding Lasky's. Because of that, there are fears that we will be punished for our actions."

Sofia looked up to the commander and agreed with Thorne.

Sofia: "He has a point. I just joined Noble after surviving a Decepticon onslaught in Jasper. I assigned into this to honor my fallen SWAT officers. And now after a few months, it will get taken from me like that? How much pressure is that?"

Kat get what they are saying and decided to give them a bit of hope.

Kat: "Look, I know you both are scarred of what happens when Carter comes in and explain what our punishment is. Hell, we are all worried of what will happen to us. But let me assure you, that no matter what happens, we're all in this together."

The two starred at her and knew she was right. They are all in hot water because of what happened. And giving the situation, they must get through this as a team.

Thorne: "Yeah… You're right. We're all in this together, no matter what happens. I just hope that the punishment that we have for us would be light. Course, it matters when Carter returns, if he returns."

Sofia: "It's been hours now since he left and it is starting to get worrisome. There's also a chance that he might be in jail for his actions, and some random soldiers come in and take us in as well. By force if it goes down to it."

Barrick chuckled and reminded them of his past experience.

Barrick: "You guys forgot of who I was. Was part of the insurgents back in the day and they try to take me down. But I took so many men in a rise of defiance before they can apprehend me. If they try to do the same as before… Well… That will be like old times."

Everyone turned to the demo expert and was a little cautious about it. Barrick looked to them and told them that it was the truth.

Barrick: "What? It's true! You guys don't believe me?"

They soon start to ignore him as Paduk came in and cleared the air.

Paduk: "What Barrick is trying to say is that we all had to deal with problems in the past. Sometimes, involving not following orders. So whatever punishment that comes before us, we're ready for it."

Emile soon joined in and agreed with the sniper.

Emile: "Yeah. It's not like we're going to be alone in this one. If this is the end of Noble Team, we'll be going through it together."

The two rookies looked at each other and knew that they are on the same boat as them. So looking back to them, they smiled and decided to calm down.

Thonre: "Thanks guys… It's nice that you let us know that you will be with us in this time of desperation."

Sofia: "Sure. At least we're not alone in this one."

But as soon as things started to calm down, the door in their barracks opened up and they all turn to see who was there. At first, they were expecting soldiers coming in, or the captain, or the general. But instead, in steps Carter as he got in and took a breather. The group saw him and immediately were elated that he finally arrived.

Thorne: "Carter!"

Kat: "Sir!"

They all soon joined him and asked many questions.

Emile: "Well, what happened?"

Sofia: "What did they say?"

Paduk: "Are we disbanded?"

Barrick: "Who should we punch?"

Carter looked to all of them berating him with questions and decided to break it off and told them straight away.

Carter: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down everyone! We're not in big trouble! We're just suspended for a week."

The group heard that and was immediately quiet. That's when Emile broke that silence and responded in one word.

Emile: "What?"

Carter sighed and knew that he was a little confused as much as everyone else. So he took a deep breath and repeated.

Carter: "You heard me. Bryce decided to suspend us for our actions. They say it will only take a week until we're back in service."

They all looked to each other and didn't know what to say. That was when Barrick decided to speak of this.

Barrick: "Wait… That's it?! That's our punishment? We disobeyed the captain's order to stage a rescue and we are benched?! I was expecting a disbandment, or worse prison."

Paduk soon joined in and thought of something far worse.

Paduk: "Or a firing squad."

Carter rolled his eyes around and could tell that they all thought it was suppose to be far worse.

Carter: "Yeah… The general was thinking of those options, and maybe other things that I don't want to disclose. But I managed to talk him out of it and explained to him what we had experienced. I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about."

The group heard that and remembered what they faced during the rescue.

Kat: "You mean MECH?"

Carter nodded and answered back.

Carter: "Yes… That's right… MECH… I explained to him that we encountered this terrorist threat during the rescue and what they are planning. And Agent Fowler believes me as he was with us during the conversation back at Omega Two. After hearing that and much consideration, he decided to two certain punishments. The first one is that of the week suspension."

The group heard his story and was still concerned about the second one. That's when Emile stepped forward and asked of it.

Emile: "And what is the second punishment?"

Carter looked away and was quiet about that. He soon turned back and decided to be a little honest.

Carter: "He… He didn't say. Apparently he wants to keep that punishment disclosed until further notice. However, Agent Fowler will contact us to let us know of that."

Everyone was getting a little unease and didn't know what that was supposed to mean.

Kat: "So, we are suspended, but we don't know what else the general has planed for us. This is rather concerning."

Carter: "Yeah, I know… However, it is Fowler that will call us on the second part, not Bryce. So I guess that's a relief. However, I am a bit concerned of what this punishment will be about?"

That's when Sofia and Thorne approached their leader and told him what the team told them.

Sofia: "It's going to be okay, sir. Whatever we're going to face, we'll be facing it together."

Thorne: "That's right! We're Noble Team after all. Not matter what, we'll face what comes to us."

Hearing this, he is relieved at the team will be with him to face what the next punishment would be about.

Carter: "Glad to hear it from two of my best rookies."

He soon looked to the others and decided to thank them for what they're going through.

Carter: "The same goes with the rest of you, Noble. Thank you for supporting me and what we are all going through. Remember that no matter what will transpire between all of us, we all must stick together until the end."

So the group stood at attention and begins saluting to him.

Kat: "Thank you sir. Whatever happens to us, at least it was an honor serving by your side."

Carter chuckled and decided to end this meeting.

Carter: "I assure you do. Now I know this is a suspension, but at least we're allowed to have our breaks. Spend your times with whatever you want. But when the week is over, be ready to face what will come to us. Dismiss!"

He soon walked away and decided to return to his quarters for a bit of R and R. Kat though still wasn't buying this and decided to follow him, wondering about something. As the two left, Emile turned to the Demo expert and asked about his vacation.

Emile: "So… That Miami vacation you were planning. You think you have enough room for one more? Better then waiting around here doing nothing."

Barrick turned to the scout and gave a bit of a smile.

Barrick: "Hmm… Depends. I have to call the boys to see if we're still on. Maybe they might have an extra seat for ya."

Paduk soon gave it some thought and decided to join as well.

Paduk: "You know what? Perhaps I should join you two. I mean, nothing better to do then crash on a beach sipping vodka."

Thorne soon decided to join them as well.

Thorne: "Hey! Hold up! Don't leave me hanging! I should go to. Need a little break after nearly getting killed by those MECH bastards."

Barrick looked to the two and chuckled a little.

Barrick: "Sure thing, boys. There's plenty of room for Barrick's Miami Block Party."

All four laughed it up, as they just needed a long beach vacation after getting killed by MECH. Sofia looked to the four and was a little disgusted by their actions. Crossing her arms, she huffed and wasn't into what they are into.

Sofia: "Boys…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Carter was making his way to his quarters and wanted some time with himself. But as he was going to get down there, Kat called him out and told him to stop.

Kat: "Excuse me sir! Please wait! I need to talk to you about something."

Carter sighed and told her to wait.

Carter: "Not now, commander. I had a serious grilling from Bryce and the others. All I need now is a hot shower and a bed to rest on."

Kat: "I know, sir. But I still want to know more on what happened out there. You said that there was a second punishment. I can tell that you didn't talk to the rest of the team about it. But you can tell me as I am your commanding officer."

The two were already in front of the door to Carter's quarters as he stopped dead in his tracks. The Noble leader sighed and decided tell her that it didn't matter.

Carter: "Look, I get you want to know about what happened as much as anyone else. But as you can see, I'm in no condition to talk."

Kat sighed and figured that was the case and should've done something.

Kat: "I see… Even if it was the case, you should've let me come with you. At least I should know what happened in that grilling."

Carter gave a deep sigh and told her that it won't matter.

Carter: "Even if it were the case, you won't be allowed in it. This meet up was meant for me and me alone. If you were there, they would've told you to wait in the lobby. It wouldn't matter either way."

Kat though didn't believe that and asked what happened.

Kat: "At least tell me what the second punishment is. You can trust me of all people, considering that I'm your commander."

Carter looked back and wondered if he would tell her or not. But giving the situation, maybe she can trust her on that.

Carter: "Look, I respect your wishes and I can understand you want to know more. But I can't say as it is classified."

Kat heard that and turned away in disappointment. But Carter could tell that she still needs an answer, so he let her know on one thing.

Carter: "However, there is one thing I know when I just left."

Kat soon looked back and was shocked that he found out one thing and asked about that.

Kat: "Really? What is it?"

The leader soon explained to her what he heard.

Carter: "When I was leaving, I overheard Fowler speaking to Bryce that there would be a reassignment for Noble before the door closed on me. That's all I know."

Kat heard that and was a bit confused.

Kat: "Reassignment? Hmm… That's a little strange. Any idea where or what?"

Carter shrugged his shoulders and didn't know about that part.

Carter: "Wish I knew. But they closed the door behind me before I found out. Whatever it is, I hope it's better then being stationed around that Decepticon barrier, waiting to get attacked. That would be a sigh of relief."

Kat then reminded him that he would've told the rest of the team about that piece of news.

Kat: "Then you should've told the others about this reassignment as well. Maybe it can clear some form of worry."

Carter sighed and knew that would be impossible.

Carter: "I can't just tell them straight away without a clearer picture. So I will keep that on the DL until then. For now, take a week vacation. I'm sure we all deserve it."

He soon opened the door to his quarters and entered, closing it on her. Kat remained there and was silent over what happened. Just the one word put her through the loop and was still wondering to this day.

Kat: "Reassignment…? That is something I never thought of. But for what?"

* * *

Minutes after Carter left Bryce's office, the general, the agent, the captain, and commander gathered around the desk, as there was a file on the table showing classified stuff. Bryce looked at the folder and asked the former Army Ranger of this.

General Bryce: "So, Fowler… You're certain this is the best of options for Noble Team?"

Fowler nodded and explained to him of the current situation.

Agent Fowler: "Indeed, general. While containing the Decepticon barrier and standing by until they decide to attack seems like the best of options, we do have another issue that is presenting us. MECH is proven to be a dangerous foe we cannot contain. It proves it with these Cybertronian knockoffs they created. Now they are planning to build a ground bridge that can take them anywhere at anytime. If they complete it… Well… I can only imagine what they have planed. So I believe this is the best course of action to deal with them once they decided to resurface."

Lasky crossed his arms and groaned at this decision.

Captain Lasky: "So you believe the best course of action is to have Noble reassign from look out outside of Decepticon occupied Jasper to your special unit to handle MECH situations? I don't believe that is the best course of action when punishing those who disobey my direct orders. If it were up to me, they would've been disciplined severely, strictly disciplined."

Fowler turned to Lasky and was a little annoyed by his say so.

Agent Fowler: "Really, Captain Lasky? You wish to punish those that risked everything to save a certain few? How much one track is your mind? MECH has caused me and Team Prime problems in the past. And now with these MECHicons and the building of a ground bridge, it proves that they will become a threatening organization that will rival the Decepticons or worse. Which means that we have to be ready for them to make their next move."

Lasky turned to him and reminded him of what he went through.

Captain Lasky: "True, this MECH has become a force to be reckon with. But the Decepticons have caused us all problems since the Jasper Invasion. I was there along with Commander Palmer. We've seen what they did to that town and we nearly escaped that Hell. You on the other hand weren't there when all of our men were slaughtered by those metal bastards."

Agent Fowler: "That might be true… But I know that our top priority is to make sure this planet is protected against any threat on or off world. Both the Cons and MECH are those threat and we must protect Earth against them."

Captain Lasky: "Even so, we need to have the resources necessary to help us against the one threat that have threatened our planet, not one that skulks in the shadows."

Agent Fowler: "Oh, so you don't want us to drain our resources in putting an end to MECH's plan. Yet you want to waste it on a defense perimeter around the Decepticon barrier while the rest of the country is left defenseless."

Captain Lasky: "We are already putting plans in motion to protecting this country. The same can be said with the rest of the world. I'm not solely focusing on just the barrier that Decepticons are protected in."

Bryce and Palmer looked to the banter between the two and could tell that it was about to get ugly. So they have to break it up before it fists start flying.

General Bryce: "ENOUGH! Both of you, stop! It's bad enough we have two dangerous threats in our country. It's worse to see you two clashing on who has a bigger ego. So knock it off!"

Palmer soon got him by the arm and dragged her captain back.

Commander Palmer: "The general is right, sir. We cannot protect this nation with you talking down one of our own. It's best we work together to make sure a repeated incident won't happen in any other city like Jasper. So let's not fight, okay?"

Lasky heard his commander to took a bit of a breather.

Captain Lasky: "Fine… We'll break it off. But understand that this argument won't end after this."

Fowler heard him and nodded in approval.

Agent Fowler: "Agreed… We do have more pressing matters then this squavel."

The general soon cleared his throat and decided to focus on this pressing matter, looking at the folder with the classified papers.

General Bryce: "Indeed, this pressing matter. While your proposal of having your own little strike force to handle MECH while the Autobots handle the Decepticons is promising, there are a few red flags being raised. And while have Noble to be reassigned to this unit is a slight problem, considering it was their first battle, the person you chose to be in charge of it is debatable at best. He was discharged many years ago and he is a crippler to boot. That and the fact that he has a partner who has an incredible track record, but also too young to handle it. You sure it's wise to have him take point then someone who is more in service?"

He looked up to Fowler as he was the one he was asking to. The agent shrugged it off and reminded him of recent events.

Agent Fowler: "Yes… It does seem like a risk to bring in someone discharged to handle it. But understand that he was in that field and helped us understand what MECH is planning to do. Plus, he knows the head of MECH's science division and what he did to his family. So, yeah… He has personal issued to coop with. And with him and Noble, along with a few others I have plan to bring, they might be able to take down MECH and what they are planning to do."

Bryce look to him then back down to the document he was looking at. Figuring they need all forces to handle any threat, he sighed and decided to green light the agent's offer.

General Bryce: "Very well… If you think that your proposal can work, I'll let you take care of it. However, if anything slips on your end…"

Fowler cleared his throat and understood what he was going to say.

Agent Fowler: "Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure that everyone will stay in line."

Bryce soon gets up and pointed the folder right at him.

General Bryce: "For your sake, you better."

He soon tossed the folder on the desk as the groaned with annoyance.

General Bryce: "Oh man… What a day…"

On the desk, there was a folder that says, _'Classified'_ and a title over it that says, _'Project DeMECH'_. The papers spilled out revealing documents of recent MECH activity along with profiles on certain members. But another two papers were all about recruitment and have two people on the top of the list combined with photos of them. Those two… Jonathan Darby and Elsa de Sica. And with Noble getting reassigned to them, it looks like that tides of war is starting to change.

The End

* * *

**So, that will do it for this three chapter extra of Double Trouble. I must say, this took a little longer then expected. But it was short, sweet, and above all else, cleared a lot of questions of how Noble got involved. Not only that, but it paves a way for a second group that solely handle MECH and stopping them. Seems like a great way to continue on with the series. Now how this will be handled… Can't tell. I'm the type of person that doesn't want to spoil anything. Just want to leave you hanging until you get a chance to read it. But rest assure, you'll get to see Noble in action along with John and Elsa and other few surprises. But until then, stay tune for the next episode of Transformers Prime Season Three, where things will _'shatter'_. Oh… Next episode segway! Please Review. #WherearetheGoodCartoons?**


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